PRODUCTIVITY could grow faster in the countryside over the next decade than in urban areas, according to the government.

It says its planned boost to speedier broadband and better transport links will help create up to 300,000 new rural jobs, boosting output from rural areas by an extra £35 billion and creating higher rural wages.

The government has based its optimistic forecast on a number of recent announcements, including:

o a £15bn investment in national roads infrastructure

o a £1.7bn investment which will see 95 per cent of UK premises have access to superfast broadband by 2017

o a binding agreement with mobile networks EE, O2, Three and Vodafone to tackle poor mobile phone signal issues in ‘partial not-spots’. This includes £5bn investment by them to improve mobile infrastructure with guaranteed voice and text coverage across 90 per cent of the UK by 2017.

o changes to working practices – according to research a growing group of around 2 million people are choosing to live in rural areas and work from home, thanks to improved connectivity. Other benefits would include shorter commuting times and increased productivity.

Elizabeth Truss, environment secretary, said: "This is a truly exciting time for rural communities with the countryside set to become even more of an economic powerhouse for the UK, building our economic security.

"Improved infrastructure is a great driver of change and our investment in broadband and transport links, together with improved mobile phone signals, is unlocking the huge potential for growth in the countryside where entrepreneurial activity is outstripping many parts of the UK."

The analysis, produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), says that rural workers in England are currently 83 per cent as productive as those in urban areas but rural productivity has the potential to grow faster than the average expected rate for the UK, allowing the countryside to gain ground on towns over the course of a decade.

People living in the countryside are more likely to run their own businesses than those in towns. It is already home to a quarter of all businesses, even though only around 18 per cent of people live in rural areas. Among the fastest growing sectors have been knowledge-based industries like IT and consultancy.

Among rural success stories Defra has highlighted are Ginsters of Callington, Cornwall, which is the biggest selling pasty maker in the UK. The 50 year-old company has started selling online to customers in Hong Kong.

Herbert Engineering in Marshland St James, Cambridgeshire, manufactures machinery for root crop vegetables such as potato graders but its technology is now used in international airports to handle luggage – "a great example of a rural business being innovative and providing cutting-edge technology to some of the most advanced airports in the world."

Rural organisations, including the National Farmers' Union and Country Land and Business Association, have both welcomed the roll out of superfast broadband but say it should happen more quickly.