I am lucky enough to live in a relatively rural part of Surrey, and to do so reasonably comfortably. Being there has some amazing advantages – countryside, nice walks, peace, bird song (a mixed blessing at 4am) and more – but that doesn’t make me blind to the challenges faced by rural communities.
Rural Surrey has pockets of extreme affluence and areas of significant need that can sometimes be masked by the presence of more affluent neighbours. This was one of the fascinating insights from our recent “Snapshot of Rural Surrey” which I hope to be able to publish very soon, along with things such as: Did you know that rural households have to spend on average 50% more per week on transport than their urban peers, with non-drivers suffering the most?
I look forward to sharing more insight – and things we can do about it very soon, but in the meantime, enjoy our newsletter which is best enjoyed sitting in the sunshine with a glass of something refreshing to hand.