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Countryman
Diary - August 2007
2020 vision for rural needs isn’t
exactly eye-openingly new
What do you think your rural community will
be like in 2020? I’ve just read a report which outlines
what action should now be taken so that communities not just
survive but thrive in the future. I’m not knocking the
report, but anyone with a deep-rooted understanding of rural
life will instantly recognise that the recommendations are not
innovative – they’re actually tried and trusted methods
developed over centuries of country living by rural folk.
Wrapped up in today’s bureaucratic and
marketing jargon is the basic suggestion that rural communities
should take charge of their own future because they know what’s
best, harking back to days before governments and huge authorities
got their hands on them.
The Carnegie Commission for Rural Community
Development’s report, Charter for Rural Communities, says
that the way ‘forward’ is by giving locals ‘a
greater say in their own affairs and the means to secure successful
futures for themselves’.
After visiting hundreds of communities across
the UK, a panel of rural experts, including an assortment of
well-meaning Sirs, Lords and Dames, concluded that ‘this
means strengthening local democracy and investing in local communities
to enable them to manage and own important local assets and enterprises’.
Dame Diana Brittan adds: “Rural communities
need to be given the chance to harness their local assets. They
often know better than distant policymakers how to address their
own local needs – but they need to be trusted to do so.
We travelled the length and breadth of the country to find out
what makes successful rural communities tick, and the message
we were given everywhere was that existing rural policy is not
working. This is often down to rural blindness among politicians,
who despite good intentions often overlook the different needs
rural areas have to inner cities.
“We discovered fantastic examples of
communities who have helped themselves but to see this replicated
more widely, local communities need to be given more say, more
skills and more control over their own assets.
“We are recommending that governments,
regional development agencies and country landowners across the
UK and Ireland support communities to do this. We have seen the
potential for the rural community of 2020 – now we have
to help realise it.”
If it takes a few titled types to get the normal
country person’s message across to politicians and civil
servants then more power to their elbows. Those who know and
understand the countryside – like our readers and contributors – will
say that looking back at how it used to be run successfully will
reveal much of the guidance needed for the future.
Heather in all its glory
A few years back I was strolling across a patch
of heather moorland and was confronted by a particularly aggressive
grouse. It looked up for a fight so I shifted sideways; it followed
me; we danced first right then left before I finally decided
to meet its aggression with some purposeful walking on the path
straight towards it. The bird swiftly got out of my way but had
the last word when it sneaked up behind me and nipped the back
of my calf!
Nevertheless, I still enjoy the heather and
now’s a great time to get out and about to admire the colours.
The National Trust has put together a handy guide to some of
the best places to enjoy heather this August and includes:
Carding Mill Valley and the Shropshire Hills – a
popular area of Shropshire, which includes the Long Mynd (01694
723068); Dunwich Heath in Suffolk – a remote and beautiful
stretch of Suffolk coastline (01728 648501); Ennerdale in Cumbria – on
the edge of the Lake District National Park (01946 816940); Frensham
Common in Surrey – a fine example of open Surrey heathland
consisting of dry and wet heath (01428 608771); Golden Cap in
Dorset – part of England’s first natural World Heritage
Site (01297 561900); Heddon Valley in Devon – part of the
north Devon coast with the Heddon Valley, Woody Bay and Hangman
Hills to explore (01598 763402); Longshaw Estate in Derbyshire – fantastic
wildlife to be seen here, from rare birds to hairy wood ants
(01433 631708); Murlough National Nature Reserve in Northern
Ireland – an excellent area for walking and bird watching
(028 4375 1467); Snowdonia in Wales – look out for club
mosses, insectivorous plants such as sundew and butterwort and
the frequently seen little yellow tormentil, blue heath milkwort
and bog orchids (01766 510120); Yorkshire Coast – forty
miles of coast from Saltburn in the north to Filey in the south
(01723 870423).
Death of former ad manager
Readers who have been with us for many years
will be saddened to hear of the death in June of Moyra Hart,
aged eighty-four, who was classified advertising manager at Countryman
for a remarkable forty years, starting in 1943.
Paul Jackson |
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