Planning for rural areas

Whilst a link between planning and urban areas – urban regeneration – is familiar, the idea of planning having a particular focus in rural areas is less common. Finding a book dealing with the topic of ‘rural planning’ is something of a challenge. However, much of the space we are planning for is by many definitions ‘rural’1 and, as the quotation above highlights, rural communities have to deal with some distinct problems, and the application of planning policies in rural areas has raised a number of challenges. This chapter seeks to review the social, economic and environmental challenges and policy responses which have developed for the British countryside and along the way identify a number of important changes in emphasis of planning policy which have shaped the policy we have now.