Parents in rural Shropshire paying more for childcare, says survey
Families in rural areas face paying £600 a year more for childcare then their urban counterparts and are less likely to have family babysitters living nearby, a nationwide report has found.
The Countryside Living Index has found parents living in rural areas pay an average of £202 per week for their children to be looked after.
In Shropshire the cost of childcare is between £190 to £230 a week for a youngster under the age of two.
But in urban areas parents pay an average of £190 a week, with the £12 difference adding up to a £624 a year.
The study, carried out by NFU Mutual, also found parents in rural areas were less likely to be able to rely on family members for help.
The Index, now in its third year, compares quality of life in rural and urban locations in the UK.
Nearly a third of rural parents reported having just one nursery or crèche in their area, while a quarter have none within easy reach of their home.
Overall, less than half of those living in the countryside had two or more formal childcare providers to choose from.
One in four parents living in rural areas claimed they paid a premium on services because of a lack of choice.
The same proportion reported being unable to rely on the children's grandparents to help with childcare because they live too far away.
Moriel Gidney, who has run Woodlands Nursery in Hope Bowdler, near Church Stretton, since 1997, said: "There are not a lot of nurseries in this area and child care can be expensive depending on how old the child is.
"But here we are flexible and fit in with the parents. We have 10 members of staff and 25 children and we feel like we are the extended family of many of our clients."
Sarah Felkin runs Little Pixes Nursery, at Kinton, near Nesscliffe in joint partnership with Debra Lovell.
The nursery, which opened three years ago, caters for children from three months to five years.
She said: "We offer a service that is great quality . Very few of our parents take up a full time place because they have grandparents who can help out or they themselves can work flexibly."
Tim Price, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual, said: "The survey shows there are variations in both the cost and availability of child care in rural areas across the UK.
"The good news for young families in Shropshire is that they are not having to pay a premium for child care but they are having to face higher costs because most job opportunities are coming up in Shrewsbury, Telford and other towns, meaning that they face petrol and parking costs to get them to work."
