Today’s plans shape countryside of 2060

How do we see our countryside in 50 years time? This was one of the key questions asked at a conference of more than 60 Midlands professionals and landowners. Hosted by Staffordshire Rural Forum, the event discussed how planning policy can address key issues facing the countryside in the coming years.

Speaker Karine Swanson, head of planning at Shrewsbury based Balfours, said: “It is fundamentally important that we look to the needs of the future to shape policy, not reminiscences of the past. Too often, planning priority is given to maintaining the character and appearance of the countryside instead of rural economics. The assumption is made that rural economic concerns or farming will somehow look after itself. This countryside strategy is dismissive and flawed.

“The importance of rural design cannot be overestimated. Poor design degrades the surrounding environment. It has a negative effect on the quality of life for local people and erodes the sense of place, it can result in loss of identity and the fragmentation of communities, warned Karine.

And while noteworthy individual buildings have been built in the last 20 years, she warned that few new neighbourhoods of value have been created. “Ten years ago, the then Planning Minister asked ‘Where are the conservation areas of the future?’ Or, to put it more succinctly, maintaining the design quality of Britain’s new places is largely failing.”

This observation reflects the quandary of rural design: how to design buildings and spaces that are successful in terms of their social, environmental and economic aims. One of the major tensions is whether the benefits of land can continue in the face of rising expectations. To illustrate a simple example, the inherent biodiversity of an area may be undermined by increasing pressures for its recreational use and public access.”

 Karine challenged the audience that a choice needs to be made over which of these benefits should take priority and questions need to be asked about who is doing the prioritising.

Photo: Karine Swanson, Head of Planning at Balfours.