Rural groups must unite to shape our countryside’s future

Thunderer in The Times, 5 June 2023

It seems impossible to discuss the countryside without conjuring up conflict. Wind farms against landscape, houses against green spaces, farmers against conservationists — the claimed battles are endless. The latest proposal to release packs of wolves to roam our countryside epitomises the polarisation. It’s either a romantic return to nature, Dances With Wolves meets David Attenborough, or it portends headless corpses of sheep and ramblers littering our moorland. Take your pick.

So ready is everyone to draw their dividing lines that we forget what unites us. Rural groups might have differing agendas but they agree about the importance of the countryside and should have common cause in speaking out for it.

We might not have the same sense of “La France profonde” as our geographically larger neighbour but new research shows that urban dwellers share a similar depth of attachment to the countryside as those who live in it, rating it second only to the NHS for what makes them proud to be British. The BBC and our system of democracy, by the way, languish at the bottom of the table.

A huge majority of the public, urban and rural, also believe the countryside should be regarded as part of our national heritage. The global perception of what defines our nation includes our landscape, as those charged with promoting tourism and investment know: “The countryside is Great” posters greet visitors in every airport. Why, then, does our discourse so belittle it?

Today a new initiative will address this deficit, seeking to create a forum in which those who care about rural Britain can share views and connect with decision-makers. Future Countryside will bring together experts in farming, conservation and land use with politicians from major political parties. The aim is to set aside differences and develop a shared vision for a modern countryside, focusing on the opportunities that this extraordinary natural resource can offer everyone: a place to restore health, to help to address climate change and energy security, and of course to grow good food. The event will put rural communities at the centre of these solutions, rather than regarding them as inconvenient accessories or part of the problem.

Most voters don’t feel government takes the countryside seriously enough. Remarkably few rate any of the major political parties on the issue. Most worryingly, people think the countryside will be in a worse condition in 20 years’ time.

The countryside matters to us all. It’s time to restore its place in our national debate.

Lord Herbert of South Downs is chairman of the Countryside Alliance and co-founder of Future Countryside

Read the article in The Times here.