A NEW study funded by the Diocese of Truro says Cornwall’s rural communities pay a “hidden rural tax” that masks the extent of their deprivation.

The Pretty Poverty Report: Cornwall Rurality Matters questions the government’s official measure for deprivation in England, claiming it doesn’t reflect the harsh reality of life in disadvantaged areas of rural Cornwall.

The 18-month long research project by Plymouth Marjon University examined the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and found it to misrepresent rural and coastal experiences, leading to poor service provision and inappropriate policy making.

According to the report, rural poverty is frequently hidden behind a façade of scenic views, tourism economies and a cultural narrative that equates countryside living with prosperity. This “pretty poverty” is misunderstood, under-measured, and chronically underfunded — and the tools used to allocate public investment and support are simply not built to capture the complexity of rural deprivation

Researchers explored six rural areas of Cornwall: St Blazey West, St Day, St Buryan and Sennen, Bodmin St Mary’s Ward, St Dennis South, Looe North and St Mary, all of which rank in the bottom 20 to 30 per cent of disadvantaged communities of the latest IMD, published in 2019.

Researchers point to key technical flaws, including the use of large areas that mask pockets of hardship, and a system that gives too little weight to issues that hit rural areas hardest - such as transport barriers, which account for just 9.3 per cent of one part of the IMD, despite access to transport being a major factor shaping quality of life in rural areas.

The report also highlights a housing crisis fuelled by second homes and holiday lets, with more than 20,000 homes in Cornwall not in full-time residential use, pushing property prices beyond local incomes; and insecure employment opportunities, often seasonal and low-paid in the tourism and care sectors.

“Cornwall has a hidden rural tax,” says lead author Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope. “What we’ve uncovered is a systemic failure by government measures to recognise the distinct context of rural living.

“These communities are resilient, but this strength masks just how precarious life can be in remote rural locations, where being without a car to access health care, education, employment and even supermarkets, just living becomes a struggle.”

The Rt Revd David Williams, Bishop of Truro, welcomed the report. “It will be a support for those who are committed to this work, and a challenge for leaders in every sector to look more deeply and act differently,” he said.

“The Church here has always looked beyond the pretty views, and beyond our well-placed pride in Cornwall, and understood what lies deeper. That’s why it is at the forefront of work through foodbanks, debt advice, crisis support, education, and a thousand other ways to be Good News for those most in need.”

Camborne and Redruth MP Perran Moon, who wrote the foreword to the report, said central government should be “deeply concerned” by the report’s findings, adding: “This oversight disadvantages people facing educational isolation, barriers to services, and precarious employment.”