THE new chairman of Yorkshire Forward hopes his rural credentials will help allay countryside dwellers' fears of an urban-dominated agenda.

Terry Hodgkinson, who takes up the post in December, hails originally from the small market town of Barnoldswick, once in Yorkshire but, following boundary changes, now on the eastern fringe of Lancashire. His wife, Ann, is from Malham, in the Yorkshire Dales, where her brother once farmed and is now in the agri-chemicals business.

"I have a very good ear for farming and rural life, particularly in the dales," said West Yorkshire-based Mr Hodgkinson, managing director of Magna Holdings and a director of Lemmeleg Building and Contracting.

"The rural economy is extremely important and Yorkshire Forward has many strands linked into the rural economy."

The regional development agency's York and North Yorkshire partnership unit already had a good record of helping support rural businesses, he said.

The conversion of the stables at Aske, near Richmond, to business units was a prime example of the way ahead and the Market Towns Initiative was already helping regenerate communities.

Mr Hodgkinson stressed it was important to look to the next 25 years, rather than concentrate on short-term benefits.

"Investors are looking for long-term proposals so it is vital to get the vision right for towns, cities and the rural areas," he said. "I think we have taken the first steps and now it is a case of keeping this vision in our minds and getting things done."

While there were four months to go before he took over the reins, he was keen to learn as much as possible about issues affecting countryside dwellers and workers.

"I sat on the skills committee and developing the skills agenda is absolutely critical to the rural economy," he said. "Skills is one of the areas that is a key attraction to new employers. It is vital to provide either the skilled workers or the facilities to develop those skills."

Linked to that, improved public transport should also be high on the agenda, he said. "Before we were married, my wife used to work at Skipton Building Society and travelled every day from Malham on the bus. Those services are still there but are much more limited."

He was keen to follow up work towards providing facilities, including shops and study courses, in rural post offices and community venues.

While Yorkshire Forward was keen to help rural areas, countryside dwellers must play their part, he warned. People must embrace the necessary changes to ensure their communities remained viable.

"There is a debate about how we deal with the countryside; is it a museum or a working environment. At the end of the day it is the livelihood of the people that live there and the rural landscape doesn't manage itself.

"The drift away from the countryside, particularly by young people, and the rise in second homes are all interwoven.

"We have some fantastic assets, we just have to dust them off a bit and look at them moree with the long term in mind."