NORTON has been labelled as a "barely active" town along with dozens of Ryedale communities in a shock report to the Government.

Several others have been graded as "sleeping" in the survey.

But the findings by the Countryside Agency could well be used to benefit rural life in Ryedale and lead to an improvement in services in the long-term, says the agency.

It dismissed suggestions that its listings had been focused on parish and town councils.

Isobel Coy, spokeswoman for the agency, said: "It is an indicator of community vibrancy, which was completed with the help of parish council clerks."

She added that it was carried out as part of the Government's Rural White Paper.

"The report highlighted such issues as isolation, lack of transport, second homes. Some of the work we do is to try to paint a picture of the state of rural life and its current problems," said Ms Coy.

She added that the Westminster-based agency was able to advise Government policy makers through the indicators used in its rural services survey.

"We look at many services and facilities in villages - whether they have a community hall, a pub, youth club, Women's Institute, shop, post office, and such events as fairs and fetes. All these add up to the vibrancy or otherwise of a rural community. We also take into consideration if parish council elections are contested."

She added that it was the first time such a comprehensive survey had been carried out.

The findings which graded parishes had "found their way" into the House of Commons library, which had resulted in some MPs believing they were a reflection on the state of parish and town councils.

"It is a report which reflects the current state of the countryside and has nothing to do with the status of a local council. We work with the National Association of Local Councils because our aim is to improve the quality of life and services in our rural areas."

Ms Coy said the agency had masterminded the successful Market Towns Initiative which was benefiting many communities including Malton, Norton and Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Helmsley, as well as providing rural transport grants.

"We need to ascertain what a community lacks to enable us to advise policy makers within the Government."

Rural affairs minister Alun Michael has admitted that "consultation was not done directly with individual communities (regarding the report)," said Ryedale MP John Greenway.

"Individual parishes scores were not intended to be published," Mr Michael told MPs.

Mr Greenway said: "These new performance gradings come at a time when it has been revealed that many parish councils are facing soaring audit costs due to the introduction of best value and quality parish council bureaucracy as well as new draconian codes of conduct that will force parish councillors to reveal in public, personal details about their own and their families' finances, property and employment."

Coun Alan Farnaby, leader of Ryedale District Council and clerk to Sheriff Hutton parish council, said he understood a further survey is to be carried out on parishes to ascertain their services and facilities.

Updated: 09:30 Thursday, March 21, 2002