A report provided a comprehensive audit of the state of England's rural historical environment. Of the more than 30,000 listed working farm buildings, 2,420 (7.4 per cent) were in a severe state of disrepair, and almost 1 in 3 had already been converted to other uses. Nearly half of the historic parkland recorded by the 1918 Ordnance Survey edition no longer existed by 1995.
Source: Heritage Counts 2005, English Heritage (0870 333 1181)
Links: Report | English Heritage press release
Date: 2005-Nov
The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill was given a third reading. The Bill would create a new body called Natural England - merging English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and most of the Rural Development Service. It also provided for the creation of a Commission for Rural Communities to give a strong voice to people in country areas, especially those suffering disadvantage.
Source: Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 11 October 2005, columns 173-262, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2005-Oct
A report said that the rapid growth in leisure traffic by car would damage the quality of the environment and tourism industry unless more secure funding were provided for rural public transport and tackling traffic growth.
Source: Visitor Travel: Policy from practice, National Trust (01793 817400)
Links: Report (pdf) | National Trust press release
Date: 2005-Oct
A report examined the major influences on the English landscape, and their likely long-term effects on the character and the extent of the countryside. It said that England could lose most of its real countryside within a single generation unless existing trends were reversed.
Source: Paul Kingsnorth, Your Countryside, Your Choice, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Report (pdf) | CPRE press release
Date: 2005-Sep
The government began consultation on proposals to (for the first time) specifically require that planning applications for inappropriate development of certain types and scale in the green belt, which local planning authorities were minded to approve, should be referred to the Secretary of State. Countryside campaigners called the proposals "environmental vandalism".
Source: Draft of the Town and Country Planning (Green Belt) Direction 2005: Consultation paper, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | Press release 18 July 2005, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Hansard | ODPM press release | CPRE press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A report provided a comprehensive picture of the quality of life in rural England. Most people in rural areas enjoyed a good quality of life, and average household income was higher than in urban areas. But this generally rosy picture concealed large disparities, and masked critical underlying issues.
Source: The State of the Countryside 2005, Commission for Rural Communities, available from Countryside Agency (0870 120 6466)
Links: Report (pdf links) | Countryside Agency press release | CPRE press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A report said that in areas of housing renewal it was vital to have a clear and deliverable strategy as to what would replace demolished housing.
Source: Rob Cowan and Daniel Hill, Start with the Park: Creating sustainable urban green spaces in areas of housing growth and renewal, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (020 7960 2400)
Links: Report (pdf) | CABE press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A coalition of rural authorities published a manifesto for rural areas.
Source: Rural Manifesto 2005/06, Sparsity Partnership for Authorities delivering Rural Services (01584 813201)
Links: Manifesto (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published its annual report for 2004-05.
Source: Departmental Report 2005, Cm 6537, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report (pdf links) | DEFRA press release
Date: 2005-Jun
The Commons Bill was published, designed to protect commons from development; allow them to be managed more sustainably; improve protection from neglect and abuse; and modernize the registration of commons, to ensure all commons enjoyed the same protection.
Source: Commons Bill [HL], Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | DEFRA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jun
A report called for low-grade agricultural land to be reclaimed for sustainable development. It said that taxpayers gave farmers ?1.5 billion per year to keep large areas of unproductive farmland idle, despite a desperate need for land to provide new homes for more than 100,000 homeless people, as well as thousands more locked out of the housing market due to lack of supply.
Source: Peter Hall, The Land Fetish, Town and Country Planning Association (020 7930 8903)
Links: TCPA press release
Date: 2005-Jun
The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill was given a second reading. The Bill would create a new body called Natural England - merging English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and most of the Rural Development Service. It also provided for the creation of a Commission for Rural Communities to give a strong voice to people in country areas, especially those suffering disadvantage.
Source: Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 6 June 2005, columns 1006-1100, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | CPRE press release
Date: 2005-Jun
A report said that a pattern was emerging of sustained attacks on green belt land, and that the biggest source of this pressure was government policy.
Source: Green Belts, Fifty Years On, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Report (pdf) | CPRE press release
Date: 2005-May
The government published a Bill to create a new body called Natural England - merging English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and most of the Rural Development Service. It would be responsible for landscapes and biodiversity, and helping people to enjoy them. The Bill also provided for the creation of a Commission for Rural Communities to give a strong voice to people in country areas, especially those suffering disadvantage.
Source: Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Summary | Defra press release | CPRE press release | HOC Library research paper (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
A report explored the relationship between broadband technology and wider aspects of rural life.
Source: John Craig and Briony Greenhill, Beyond Digital Divides? The future for ICT in rural areas, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency (0870 120 6466)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Apr
The Labour Party published an election manifesto on rural issues, including proposals for a Commission on Rural Housing.
Source: Rural Communities - Forward Not Back, Labour Party (08705 900200)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | Labour Party press release | Countryside Alliance press release
Date: 2005-Apr
A research report identified the complex nature of rural disadvantage in England. Those who were living on low incomes in urban areas were clustered together, whereas in rural areas they were mostly scattered. Helping these people gain access to jobs, healthcare and other vital services posed a significant challenge.
Source: Rural Disadvantage: Our first thematic study, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency (0870 120 6466)
Links: Report (pdf) | Countryside Agency press release
Date: 2005-Mar
The opposition Conservative Party published a manifesto on agriculture and rural issues. It promised to reduce regulation of farming, and protect 'rural pursuits'.
Source: Action on Farming and Rural Communities, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Manifesto (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The government published a draft Bill (for pre-legislative scrutiny) designed to address the needs of rural communities and the natural environment through modernized and simplified arrangements for implementing policy. The Bill would create a single agency to provide an integrated approach to sustainable land management, and the enhancement and use of the natural environment; and establish a new Commission for Rural Communities as an adviser, advocate and watchdog for rural communities, especially those suffering disadvantage. But countryside campaigners expressed fear that the new body had a 'dangerous lack of clear purpose'.
Source: Draft Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (08459 556000) | Press release 10 February 2005, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Text of Bill (pdf) | Explanatory notes (pdf) | DEFRA press release | CPRE press release | English Nature press release
Date: 2005-Feb
A report said up to a fifth of the total land area in England was underused and overlooked. The land between the countryside and towns had huge potential to be a recreational resource on the urban doorstep, a nature reserve that allowed wildlife to thrive in and around towns and cities, and a place where farmers could tap directly into urban markets.
Source: The Countryside in and Around Towns: A vision for connecting town and country in the pursuit of sustainable development, Groundwork UK (0121 236 8565) and Countryside Agency
Links: Report (pdf) | Groundwork press release
Date: 2005-Jan
Countryside campaigners said that the government's plans for a 'step change' in the building of homes for sale threatened severe, additional environmental damage. Instead, the government should focus on boosting the building of subsidized homes for people who had long been unable to afford market prices.
Source: Building on Barker, Campaign to Protect Rural England (020 7981 2800)
Links: Report (pdf) | CPRE press release
Date: 2005-Jan