Press Release
A Grey and Pleasant Land? Major Study on Ageing in Rural Britain
20 November 2008
The CCRI is participating in a novel interdisciplinary research project led by the University of Plymouth which aims to find out what life in rural communities is like for Britain's ageing population.
The University of Plymouth together with its research bid partners, the Countryside and Community Research Institute, Bournemouth University, University of the West of England, Cardiff University and Swansea University has been awarded £1.1 million to investigate how older people living in rural South West England and Wales interact with their local community, and what social and economic issues are important to them. Entitled Grey and Pleasant Land?: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Connectivity of Older People in Rural Civic Society, the three-year study is one of a number funded under the 'New Dynamics of Ageing' programme. This seven-year research initiative, the largest research programme on ageing to date in the UK, is a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils – ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC – supporting scientists from across the disciplines to work together on research which will benefit the quality of life of older people.
The rural South West has been specifically chosen as a location for several of the Grey and Pleasant Land project study sites due to its position at the forefront of the demographic 'age wave'. The South West has the most ageing population of all regions in England which is growing faster than the overall UK population, and has the highest life expectancy of all regions. Rural Wales is experiencing similar demographic trends.
The study will focus on the quality of life of older people in rural areas by analysing the extent of their involvement in their communities, leisure patterns and cultural interests, the barriers and opportunities for participation that they experience and their attitudes to the countryside as a social, cultural and environmental space. From the findings, the research team will be able to offer policy and practical recommendations about how to promote older people in rural areas as community assets rather than as 'problems' and create awareness of the contribution that older people actually make to their communities.
Professor Catherine Hennessy, Chair in Public Health and Ageing in the School of Nursing and Community Studies at the University of Plymouth led the successful bid and is the co-ordinator of the project. Professor Hennessy said: "We are pleased that this grant will allow us to focus on issues important to older people living in rural areas using the combined perspectives and methods of a wide range of disciplines. These perspectives will provide us with the larger picture of the concerns, contributions and opportunities of older people in regard to their involvement in rural community life and identify new ways to improve their participation and inclusion."
Examples of some of the innovative methods being used to engage older rural people in the project and to communicate their experiences of rural living include a film, a museum exhibition, an art-based book, interactive websites and videoconferences and other events in which older people in rural areas in the UK and other countries discuss issues relevant to their quality of life.
It is hoped that the project will ensure that the concerns important to older people living in rural settings receive attention that reflects their growing numbers and that the findings can form the basis for recommendations that can benefit older people living in rural communities nationally and beyond.
ENDS______________________________________________________________
Notes for Editors
Please direct any general media enquiries about the project to University of Plymouth Press and PR Officer, Karen Mason on 01752 588002.
For enquiries specifically related to the individual projects conducted by the individual universities, please contact the relevant institution's Press Officer; Bournemouth University: Lucy McQuillin (01202 961037 lmcquillin@bournamouth.ac.uk); Cardiff University: Victoria Dando (02920 879074 dandov2@cardiff.ac.uk); Swansea University: Bethan Evans (01792 295050 press@swansea.ac.uk); University of the West of England: Jane Kelly (0117 32 82208 jane.kelly@uwe.ac.uk) or Mary Price (0117 32 82208 mary.price@uwe.ac.uk), Countryside and Community Research Institute: Julie Ryan jryan@glos.ac.uk
The 'New Dynamics of Ageing' programme is a seven-year research initiative being funded by five UK Research Councils including the Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. http://www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk/
The Research Councils are independent non-departmental public bodies, funded by the Science Budget through the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). They are incorporated by Royal Charter and together manage a research budget of over £3 billion a year. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the partnership between the UK's Research Councils. Through RCUK, the Research Councils work together to champion the research, training and innovation they support. www.rcuk.ac.uk
The project will commence in January 2009 and the research will be conducted through seven individual work packages which will investigate the circumstances and experiences of civic inclusion among older rural people in areas such as cultural and leisure activities, travel and mobility, and internet use.
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) is collaboration between the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England, Royal Agricultural College and Hartpury College. It is one of the leading specialist rural research centres in the country with programmes of research in rural community development, rural poverty, agri-environment policies, agri-tourism, local sustainability, local economic development, EU and UK rural development, and the planning system in the countryside. See www.ccri.ac.uk for more information. Professor Nigel Curry, Director of the CCRI, can be contacted on email ncurry2@glos.ac.uk or on tel. 00 44 (0) 1242 714126
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) is collaboration between the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England, Royal Agricultural College and Hartpury College. It is one of the leading specialist rural research centres in the country with programmes of research in rural community development, rural poverty, agri-environment policies, agri-tourism, local sustainability, local economic development, EU and UK rural development, and the planning system in the countryside.
The Royal Agricultural College has been at the forefront of agricultural development since 1845. The expertise and skills of staff provide a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and training courses that combine academic excellence with a practical orientation. The College also carries out an active programme of contract research, often in association with other national and international academic and research centre.
Issued by:
Julie Ryan
Communications Officer
COUNTRYSIDE AND COMMUNITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Dunholme Villa,
The Park,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire
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