Taking the rural message to the heart of government
It’s fair to say that our busy time this year has been even busier than usual.
Not just because of the general uncertainty in the industry and the fear of the unknown, but a lack of clear direction as there are so many consultations around that will affect your business. All these need considering and responding to where appropriate.
In some cases we need to shout our response louder than others and I am never short of feedback to help me formulate my input, and be confident that I am representing the views of Shropshire farmers, landowners and rural businesses.
I did manage to find the time to visit Wembley Stadium twice since my last column. While the results didn’t go Shrewsbury’s way, I did meet family, friends and a few farmers who had managed to escape work for a day. All had opinions they wanted to share, and it brought home to me the real sense of community in rural areas, and especially our villages.
Village life is further under threat because, as more services close, the villages are considered unsustainable for development, and housing is being prioritised for larger settlements.
Our much admired and visited countryside is, of course, characterised as much by our hamlets and villages as it is by the landscape that is so perfectly managed by our farmers. However, without more Government intervention these communities will continue to degenerate to the cost of the wider rural society.
To make matters worse, we are also trying to protect farmers’ rights to a fair profit when releasing land for development as Government looks for ways to capture even more of the uplift in the value of land granted planning permission.
These are messages we are taking to the heart of Government because I strongly believe that the best people to decide what you should do with your land is you and your family.
That has been the underlying principle behind everything I have worked for at the CLA for the past 17 years, and one I will carry with me as I look at my career.
It is with mixed feelings that I tell you this is my last column as regional director for the CLA, as I am leaving for a welcome break to recharge my batteries and consider my own direction, post-Brexit!
I would like to thank the Star for giving me the opportunity to speak to you via this column, which I will hand over to the very capable hands of the new regional director, Shropshire-born Mark Riches, a chartered rural surveyor and passionate advocate for all things rural.
Caroline Bedell is regional director, CLA Midlands
