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Countryside In and Around Towns: monitoring and evaluation

The urban fringe is the extensive area around towns and cities which accounts for up to 20% of the land area of England. Its is of critical importance to rural and urban communities alike.

The Countryside In and Around Towns programme (CIAT) has been specifically developed to provide a strategic approach to making best uses of its resources, and to contribute towards sustainable development. 

A national monitoring and evaluation framework supported the vision implementation programme and produced a formative monitoring and evaluation report. This has enabled us to capture and share the lessons to be learnt from this work.  The report is now available to download below.

The summary document highlights the Countryside In and Around Towns programme’s achievements over the last two years, in seeking to demonstrate a vision for the urban fringe through engaging and influencing others to effect change and maximise the potential of this resource. Exemplar demonstration projects are featured along with examples of how linkages have been made, particularly with Green Infrastructure.

The programme provides a solid foundation for Natural England’s future work, both on urban and urban fringe policy development, and on Green Infrastructure, whether in Growth Areas, Growth Points or elsewhere in England.

Summary Document:
Green Infrastructure and the Urban Fringe:Learning lessons from the Countryside In and Around Towns programme (495kb pdf)

Main Report:
Getting the whole picture: Executive Summary (445kb pdf)

Getting the whole picture: Implementing, monitoring and evaluation report 2006/2007 (769kb pdf)