Breadcrumbs
Agricultural Landscapes: 33 years of change - 3 July 2006
This is the fourth part of a study initiated a third of a century ago, due to widespread concern that farming practices were having a harmful impact on English lowlands, including hedge and tree removal, land drainage and the introduction of modern farm buildings.
Stuart Burgess, Countryside Agency Chair, said: “This publication presents us with an invaluable visual record of the lowland landscape in the first decade of the 21st century, against which future changes can be compared.”
New findings from seven study areas* across England show that defining features of England’s lowlands appear to be making a recovery. For example, the quality and size of many hedgerows appear to have improved and the widespread removal of this characteristic feature has all but ceased.
Looking back over 33 years, the picture across lowland England is by no means consistent. One of the main conclusions to be drawn from the life of the study is that different farming systems, in different parts of the country, have had widely contrasting impacts on the landscape.
Huntingdonshire and the Cambridge Fens have seen most changes over the years, such as greater field sizes due to the removal of trees, hedges or dykes; whilst Herefordshire has experienced relatively little change.
This work provides a snapshot of how seven rural parishes have changed over time - it’s encouraging that there are signs that, at long last ,the lowlands in these parts appear to be enjoying greater stability.
Copies of ‘Agricultural Landscapes: 33 years of change’ are available from www.countryside.gov.uk.
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For more information, photographs or interviews please contact the Countryside Agency press office on:
Matthew Heard: 01242 533476 or 07900 608 168
Beth Rose: 01242 533306 or 07900 608 052
Notes to Editors
*The seven study areas are:
Prickwillow in Cambridgeshire; Leighton Bromswold in Huntingdonshire; Piddlehinton in Dorset; Crewkerne in Somerset; Preston on Wye in Herefordshire; Myton on Swale in Yorkshire; Grandborough in Warwickshire.
The Countryside Agency
The Agency is changing as the result of Defra's Rural Strategy 2004 and the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill, which gained Royal assent in March 2006.. The New Act sets out the creation of:
- Natural England - a single new body that will integrate the Landscape, Access and Recreation division of the Countryside Agency with English Nature and most of Defra's Rural Development Service (RDS). Natural England will work for people, places and nature, with responsibility for enhancing biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas; promoting access, recreation and public well-being, and contributing to the way natural resources are managed - so that they can be enjoyed now and by future generations.
- Commission for Rural Communities – a single body that will act as a rural advocate, expert adviser and independent watchdog, with a particular focus on disadvantage. Currently operating as a division of the Countryside Agency, the Commission will become an independent body.
These changes will come into effect in October 2006, at which point the Countryside Agency will cease to exist.
We may be changing, but our skills, knowledge and enthusiasm will continue to benefit people in rural England. To find out more about our work, and for information about the countryside, visit our website: www.countryside.gov.uk
