Rural economies have £347bln in unfulfilled potential

Burgess was tasked by Gordon Brown to investigate ways in which rural economies could be strengthened following flooding and foot and mouth incidents in 2007.

In his report to the Prime Minister, Burgess said that in 2005 rural economies earned at least £325 billion for the British economy and added that around 30 per cent of England's businesses are located in rural areas.

Burgess said that "by lifting the performance, especially of medium and larger firms in rural areas, by attracting more investment, by strengthening the capacity to innovate," rural firms could contribute an extra £236 million to £347 million to the UK economy.

Such action, Burgess claimed, would help reduce unemployment and poverty in rural areas, close the gap between rural and urban wages and make rural communities more resilient to economic and environmental shocks.

In his report Burgess laid out plans to help strengthen rural businesses with greater investment.

Burgess said, "In my visits to rural areas I am constantly reminded how enterprising rural people are and what diversity of successful firms and resilient communities we have. My report records their economic strengths and the substantial contribution they already make to the nation's economic performance. However, we also know there is scope for significant improvement, and for some communities this will only come from better support"

He continued, "At the heart of any drive for improvements will be better understanding of the scale and performance of rural economies from business and city leaders, economic departments and agencies. This is why I have also recommended that the government convenes a national summit and sponsors a series of regional summits to focus attention and activity of government and its agencies on releasing the potential of rural economies."