Sir Ewen Cameron, chairman of the Countryside Agency, comments on the Government’s review of the white paper, published today by Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael.
Countryside Agency Archive

Breadcrumbs

Think Rural, Act Rural - 14 January 2004

Sir Ewen Cameron, chairman of the Countryside Agency comments on the review of the Rural White Paper.


Getting government to ‘think rural’ has been a major achievement of the Rural White Paper 2000, said Sir Ewen Cameron, chairman of the Countryside Agency, commenting on the Government’s review of the white paper, published today by Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael.

“New government policy could exclude a quarter of England’s population if it did not take into account the rural dimension, and government departments across the board are now ‘rural proofing’ their policies,” Sir Ewen continued.

“We are not asking for special treatment, simply fair play for rural communities.   This review shows that a good start has been made.   However, now is not the time to sit back and congratulate ourselves.   What we need is a ‘refreshed’ rural white paper underpinned by action and appropriate funding and we are looking forward to seeing the promised rural strategy to take forward the good work.

“The priorities for rural areas continue to be the need to provide reasonable access to services and homes for rural communities; protection of the natural heritage and countryside as an asset; and sustainable economic development, which recognises the important part the countryside plays in the national economy.  

“Out of the 262 commitments in the Rural White Paper, 38 were assigned to the Countryside Agency and our corporate strategy is linked to these commitments. To meet them we have: 

  • Published annual Rural Proofing Reports and a Rural Proofing Checklist. As part of our monitoring and watchdog role, we produce annual reports assessing government commitment to include a rural dimension as they develop new policies;                                                                                                  
  • Established the Town and Parish Plans scheme, which forms part of the Vital Villages programme. This is the first piece of work a town/parish would undertake to identify its needs and is now a mainstream part of community planning;
  • Developed and promoted the Wheels to Work scheme, which gives rural people over the age of 16 the opportunity to learn to ride a scooter, so that individuals can access work, training or education. Pilots were conducted in conjunction with New Deal to remove transport barriers;
  • Created the ‘Eat the View’ initiative - part of wider Defra work on the Action Plan for Farming, to enable the industry to be more sustainable. The programme seeks to develop new markets for producers. One aspect of our work has been helping the Association of Farmers Markets to put producers into direct contact with consumers;
  • Undertaken the designation of the South Downs and New Forest as National Parks;
  • Completed the first stage of mapping all open countryside and registered common land in England for open access – under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act;
  • Published annual State of the Countryside reports covering all aspects of the social, economic and environmental well-being of the English countryside. 

“The 2000 Rural White Paper was a very valuable document, but inevitably things have changed and many policy agendas have moved on since it was written. As the Government’s adviser on countryside issues, we look forward to seeing a rural strategy that builds on the Rural White Paper. Many will be looking to it to demonstrate a continuing strong government policy focus on tackling the needs of rural communities and the countryside,” concluded Sir Ewen.  

- ends -