An ageing society represents a particular set of challenges and opportunities for Britain's countrysides. The population of rural areas is ageing more rapidly than in towns and cities. Although urban centres are likely to eventually catch up, there is pressure to respond more rapidly in the countryside in terms of how services may be configured in the future to meet this trend. As highlighted in the previous chapter, migration is a key driver of change in the social composition of rural areas. However, the development of an ageing population in these locations is not just down to migration decisions made at the point of retirement, but also those made earlier in people's lives. Much discussion defines older people as anyone aged 50 and over. Lowe and Speakman (2006: 13) have noted that although this figure is an arbitrary one, it captures the period when people make most of the key decisions, choices and transitions that shape their later life. Furthermore, the implications for demographic changes in rural localities are also affected by the decisions of younger age groups. In focusing upon the rural dimension of an ageing society, therefore, it is necessary to consider the migration decisions that people make across the life course in terms of shaping the specific demographic profiles that are emerging in rural localities across Britain, and which are predicted to develop in the future. This chapter highlights the nature of migration decisions of older people as part of the overall demand for housing in rural areas, before moving on to assess the wider implications of an ageing society for rural localities in the context of housing and planning policy.

Older people and the demand for housing in rural localities

One of the consequences of global economic shifts has been significant blurring in the way that people in later life disengage or re-engage with economic activity. Stockdale (2006) has applied the notion of ‘retirement transitions’ to an analysis of the migration of pre-retirement households (aged between 50 and 64) into rural areas. This notion refers to the way in which the prospect of retirement acts as a catalyst for changes in people's lives including employment, health, lifestyles and marital relations.