LIVING AND working in rural locations may be the envy of city dwellers – but it is not without its complications.

A rural survey has been launched to focus on the challenges facing rural citizens UK wide, in the hope of identifying what improvements can be made to make rural locations more sustainable for the future.

The ‘Recharging Rural’ research has been launched by The Prince’s Countryside Fund with Professor Sarah Skerratt from Scotland’s Rural College, and is inviting anyone living in rural areas of the UK to take part.

The study hopes to find out what challenges can result from living and working in rural locations, such as poor transport links, social isolation or broadband issues, and will collate the findings to identify ways forward into 2030 and beyond.

Professor Skerratt explained the importance of the survey: “We really want this survey to improve our understanding of what life feels like in these rural areas and gather views on what should be done to address and reduce the challenges they face.

“Some of these experiences are determined by where we are on a map. Other experiences of feeling remote are the result of the ‘layering’ of our personal circumstances or challenges, including economic, social, health, or opportunities available to us,” she continued.

“Some communities are already actively overcoming these challenges. We want to hear about their projects and programmes too, so that the final report can share the great work that is happening across the country. We also want to know people’s thoughts on what must change to enable more communities to be stronger into the future,” she concluded.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund uses its research, such as Recharging Rural, in part to plan its future support for rural communities. Their 2016 research into small family farms aided the development of The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme, a £1.5 million programme that helps farming families become more resilient and gain better business skills. The fund also opens for grants twice a year, awarding £1.2 million a year to projects making a long-term impact in rural areas.

The ‘Recharging Rural’ survey is open to everyone who lives or works in or for rural areas of the UK and will remain open until Wednesday April 18 at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/recharging-rural