environment and land use
The countryside – who is it for?
report was launched in January 2005 by Groundwork and the then Countryside Agency (now called the Commission for Rural Communities) entitled “The Countryside in and around towns – a vision for connecting town and country in the pursuit of sustainable development”. It is based on the scenario that anything up to one fifth of the total land area of England is underused and overlooked. These agencies believe that we need to rethink how we use the areas of land around every town and city. Should the land be used for light industry, recreation or farming? The report indicates that planning and vision are needed to achieve the best social, economic and environmental benefits from such areas.
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The report says that the countryside in and around towns has ten key functions: being both a bridge to the country and a gateway to the towns, as well as a health centre and classroom, a recycling and renewable energy centre, a productive landscape, a cultural legacy, a nature reserve, a place for sustainable living and a engine for regeneration.
However, while it is good that the many roles the countryside fulfils are recognised as being very important for the benefit of the whole population, there is little detail on how these roles are to be fulfilled. The countryside near towns and cities is seen as a place to create new sustainable communities. This land is therefore an important development site, especially for affordable homes, and means that such areas can be a prime location for the expansion of towns and cities. No matter how selective that expansion is, it is hardly sustainable as it will
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destroy the countryside that is built on and push the urban boundaries ever wider.
The farmed land around towns and cities is indeed a productive landscape and although some of the crops grown can be supplied directly to
consumers via farmers markets, many city farmers markets draw in suppliers from beyond the immediate urban fringe. Large commodity crops such as wheat, barley and milk cannot be sold via farmers market no matter where they are produced.
The ten functions of the countryside around towns and cities all benefit the general public directly. These functions rely predominantly on the expertise and goodwill of farmers and others who manage the land. They also rely upon ordinary rural people who live in the urban fringe countryside and who help to make it welcoming to all. Farmers do not receive specific payments for access to their land, and land adjacent to many urban areas is subject to high levels of theft and vandalism. Everyone who uses the countryside needs to remember that is not a recreational idyll but an active, living and productive landscape that needs to be cherished and appreciated by all who work and play within it. Maintaining it in its current state is an expensive undertaking that has to be paid for by someone.
Susan Atkinson
www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk
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