Implementation of the Rural Strategy 2004 requires that a Rural Delivery Framework is established in each region. Partners in the region commissioned the first phase of the production and assessment of the issues faced by people living, working and enjoying the countryside to support development of the framework in the North West of England.
The report reviews the state of the rural North West through four broad areas of regional analysis: spatial context and environment, economy, people and living.
For all four areas of analysis, the report has shown objectively, and for the first time in the North West, that rural areas are a complex mix with as much variation within rural areas as between urban and rural areas.