Multi-Service Outlets in Rural England: The Co-location of Disparate Services

The co-location of disparate services in what may be termed ‘multi-service outlets’ is an increasingly common response to the difficulties of service delivery in sparsely populated areas. This paper reports on a survey of four English counties which found that about one-quarter of rural parishes now have such an outlet in addition to commonplace shop/post offices and standard village halls, and presents various case-study material. The parlous situation of many service outlets in rural England remains a source of concern (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) & Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), 2000; Countryside Agency 2004; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), 2004). Although some, such as primary schools and village halls, now enjoy numerical stability year on year and others, such as public and community transport and childcare, show modest growth, the number of village pubs, post offices, food shops and GP surgeries continues to fall. So, in recent years, has the number of small town hospitals, banks and police stations (Higgs & White, 1998; Moseley, 2000; Countryside Agency, 2001a; Moseley & Chater, 2002). And, decline or not, the sheer paucity of provision has adverse welfare effects. These include a degree of inconvenience, if not hardship, for car-less residents and a sparsity of venues for social interaction, with implications for the erosion and non-replenishment of valuable social capital. (Shucksmith, 2000; Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000). This is by no means a uniquely English phenomenon (see, for example, evidence on the Irish, Polish and French situations in Higgs (2003)). As household car ownership, especially two-/three-car ownership, and information and communication technology (ICT) penetration continue to rise, rural consumers throughout the Western world are increasingly able to access distant and often superior service outlets developed by service providers in search of economies of scale.