“The Dark Side of Country Living” Britain’s Telegraph daily reports on the separation between deprived rural areas of the UK, where it reports the contrast between the hotels and people living on the bread line in its latest look at the state of the South East.

The article says that areas that attract the most tourists and city dwellers can often be the most unequal in society, with second homer owners and holiday lets like Airbnb vastly inflating prices and pricing out people who live in the area.

The article adds that some 12% of rural housing stock is of rural housing stock is social housing, compared with over 19% in urban areas.

“People are cross because Cornwall is one of the poorest parts of the country,” said retired nurse Ailsa Johnson at the time. “We have very low wages here, we haven’t got any big industries. The contrast between the luxury hotels and the many on benefits and at food banks is quite stark,” the article states.

The report goes on to write: “Urban dwellers who move out often have the same illusions about rural living, and are usually put straight on these sooner rather than later. They like to look for the most remote properties available, thinking that the true soul of the countryside can be found only when no other house is visible as far as the eye can see.”

Read the full article here: The dark side of country living 

Read further articles about rural regeneration here!