EQ4: How successful is regeneration? GapFill

The success of rural regeneration may be measured by a range of players, including residents and the local council.  Residents of differing ages will have different priorities to measure success.  For example, younger adult residents are likely to prioritise  employmentclean beachespollutionentertainment whereas elderly residents may care more about  social careemploymentpollutionentertainment associated with rural developments such as the Eden Project or developing tourism and recreation along the North Antrim Coast in   ScotlandSouth WalesNorthern IrelandNorth Wales.  For rural regeneration there may be serious objections from those wanting to protect the rural idyll from increased traffic and development as large parts of the countryside are protected as national parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, among other designations.  Projects such as building high speed   railundergroundbroadbandaircraft may only benefit the urban areas they connect at the expense of the rural areas, and some people may be forced to sell their homes through a process known as   forced saleland purchasecompulsory purchasecompulsory sale where the national interest is deemed to override that of individuals.  The exploration for shale gas known as   exploitationdrillingquarryingfracking also raises many concerns about the residual pools of pollution as well as increased lorry traffic to bring the water and chemicals needed for the process into rural areas of northern England.  The benefit of such projects, though, would be a slowing of the loss of young people from rural areas in search of work in the cities known as   counter urbanisationurbanisationsuburbanisationrural depopulation.  This would reduce some of the demographic issues faced by rural areas.