Broadband Plays its Part as CLA Names Top Rural Counties for Business

The Country Land and Business Association, which represents many thousands of landowners in England and Wales, has recently named the top 10 counties in England for running a rural business and Cheshire comes top of the table. As usual the quality of broadband and mobile connectivity plays a big part.

The assessment compares ceremonial counties in England (including Unitary Authorities) and excludes the most urban areas, such as Greater London, Tees Valley, City of Bristol and the “Metropolitan Counties” (Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire).

In terms of scoring methodology, the CLA looked at the estimated number of rural start-ups per 10,000 people in each county, as well as connectivity (i.e. the quality and coverage of both fixed line broadband and mobile networks), planning (i.e. local planning authorities’ attitudes towards beneficial rural economic development), local skills + innovation and a survey of how businesses feel about their region.

Henry Robinson, CLA President, said:

“Across the country rural businesses are starting up, making investments and creating jobs. Operating in a rural area brings opportunities but also challenges and there is much that can be done to help them to succeed. In this table we shine a light on some of the main factors that can help a business succeed. The areas that top our list have rated most consistently across a range of factors.

Top of the list is connectivity, almost any type of business can operate from a rural area if they have good quality mobile and internet connection. Unfortunately getting the coverage that a business needs remains a postcode lottery and too many businesses are losing out. We need government, councils and network providers to focus on delivery especially in our most remote areas.

A growing business often needs space or to update existing buildings and facilities. This can be frustrated by poorly managed planning systems. Our table rates the performance of planning authorities on whether they have Local Plans in place and whether they are permitting or refusing applications to convert and change buildings.”

It is high time that rural businesses in all parts of the country are valued and encouraged to grow.”

The bulk of the data sources use official Government or Ofcom derived figures, such as the telecom regulators annual Infrastructure Report 2014 and their coverage maps (related data is often a bit optimistic). On the connectivity side the report only considers the percentage of broadband coverage in each county, which has been equated to a score out of 15, and the percentage of mobile coverage for each county has been equated to a score out of 10.

The full results, including scores for each category, can be Downloaded Here (PDF) and below is a basic top 10 summary.

Top 10 – CLA Rural Business Country League Table 2015
1. Cheshire
= 2. Oxfordshire
= 2. Cumbria
4. Gloucestershire
5. Surrey
6. Nottinghamshire
7. Northamptonshire
8. Isle of Wight
9. Berkshire
10. Wiltshire

The news follows shortly after the Government announced a new 10-point plan for boosting productivity in England’s rural areas (here), which rehashed a number of existing pledges and broadband improvement programmes. But it’s worth noting that the CLA may also need to find a compromise on land access costs in order to help boost connectivity (here).