Just under 10 rural England schools are shutting every year, statistics from the National Housing Federation show.
The federation claims “a chronic shortage” of affordable houses in rural areas is pricing people out of villages.
It cites this as the reason for 59 rural primary schools closing between 2005 and 2010 – an average of just under 10 each year.
Last year, six rural schools closed, compared with two in 2009. Areas that have seen the most closures over the five-year period include Northumberland and Wirral, Merseyside.
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “With pubs and shops closing in record numbers, disappearing schools is another body blow for rural England.”
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
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