THE Government's Rural Advocate Dr Stuart Burgess says creating affordable housing is vital to keep 21st Century rural communities 'vibrant and sustainable'.

He was speaking at the South West Area Young Farmer's Club convention Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee forum held at Torquay's Livermead Cliff Hotel at the weekend.

Dr Burgess released his annual Rural Advocate Report last week to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and spoke as part of a high-profile panel of speakers on the forum.

Dr Burgess's report hit national headlines after he focused on young people in rural communities across Britain.

His report highlighted eight issues and he explained creating affordable housing was about 'how to make sure that 21st century rural communities are vibrant and sustainable'.

"It can only be that we take seriously affordable housing," he said.

"If you can't afford to live in rural areas all my evidence points to young people moving away."

He explained 30,000 people left rural areas each year and that many young people returned from university unable to buy houses because of being priced out of the market.

He explained access to mobile phone coverage and broadband internet communication in the countryside was the 'infrastructure' of the 21st Century just as building roads and highways had been during the 1960s and 70s.

He also called for improvements to rural transport, jobs, employment and skills to be made, adding: "Poverty in rural areas is hidden poverty, if you brought together all the people in the countryside who live below the poverty line it would be two million people, and that would be equivalent to the conurbation of Birmingham and there would be a national outcry.

"Because poverty is dispersed it is more difficult to get a handle on it," added Dr Burgess.

He spoke as part of the panel that was chaired by John Lee, chairman of the South West Sustainable Food and Farming Board, Andrew Slade, the executive director of the South West Regional Development Agency, Nick Chase, the head of policy and research at Action with Communities in Rural England, Ed Aceman, Young Farmers Representative and Graeme Cock, director of Mole Valley farmers.