Fuel poverty hits a third of rural homes

A third of households in villages, hamlets and isolated rural parts of the West Midlands, including Shropshire, are in fuel poverty as they struggle to heat their home during the recession, latest figures show today.

And at least a quarter of people living in rural areas of the region still have to travel more than a mile to their nearest post office, according to the statistics.

The stark figures have been released by the Commission for Rural Communities, which has updated its “10 big numbers” – key rural figures focusing on everything from population to poverty.

It shows 33.5 per cent of people living rurally in the West Midlands are classed as being in fuel poverty – where they cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm at a reasonable cost.

Nationally 743,000 homes in rural areas are classed as being in fuel poverty according to the statistics, from 2007.

A spokesman for the CRC said: “Fuel poverty is a significant issue for rural households, especially those having to rely on more expensive fuels for heating.

“In hamlets and isolated rural dwellings in sparsely populated counties such as Shropshire as many as 65 per cent of households are not connected to mains gas so unable to obtain dual fuel discounts.”

And just over 25 per cent of people in rural areas in the region live more than 2km from a post office. Nationally the figure stands at 808,600.

The spokesman added: “As many as 1,000 rural post offices have closed across the UK in the last couple of years. For rural counties such as Shropshire people have to travel further to reach vital services.”

The figures come just days after the National Housing Federation warned that people need to earn more than £50,000 a year to be able to afford to buy a house in Shropshire – with nearly 7,000 on a waiting list because they are unable to buy a home outright.

And it also comes after warnings that the county’s communities could – “continue to decline” with services and facilities being withdrawn and pubs, primary schools or village shops put at risk if they are not earmarked for more homes.