CPRE [1] today (Wednesday) raised concerns that ‘ordinary’ countryside could become neglected following the introduction by Natural England [2] of a new method of targeting applications by farmers to England’s top level green farming scheme [3].

Ian Woodhurst, CPRE’s Senior Farming Campaigner, said:

‘CPRE has long recognised that more money is needed to support farmers' management of the countryside, so we understand why the limited funds need to be targeted. But we find the invention of 110 new ‘Target Areas’ perplexing. We fear this will just create confusion for farmers, given that 159 landscape character areas [4] were already being used as a way of targeting green farming schemes.’

CPRE urges Natural England not to lose the valuable work carried out through the Countryside Quality Counts project which has monitored changes to our landscapes over the past six years and the vital role of Environmental Stewardship in strengthening their character.

Ian Woodhurst concluded:

‘Landscape character is an important aspect of the overall quality of the countryside and a key contributor to people’s quality of life. We need to be able to track how green farming schemes are helping to strengthen the character of all of our landscapes that are so highly valued by the public.’

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

2. Natural England was launched by the Government in late 2006. Its responsibilities include: promoting nature conservation and protecting biodiversity; conserving and enhancing the landscape; securing the provision and improvement of facilities for the study, understanding and enjoyment of the natural environment; promoting access to the countryside, open spaces and encouraging open air recreation; and, contributing in other ways to social and economic well being through management of the natural environment. Natural England is developing an implementation strategy to help promote and develop the principles of the European Landscape Convention, ratified in 2006, to which the UK is a signatory.

3. Environmental Stewardship is the Government’s agri-environment scheme which provides funding to farmers and other land managers in England who deliver effective environmental management on their land. Its primary objectives are to: conserve wildlife; maintain and enhance landscape quality and character; protect the historic environment and natural resources; promote public access and understanding of the countryside; and, protection of soil and water resources. There are two levels of Environmental Stewardship. Entry Level aims to encourage a large number of farmers across a wide area of farmland to deliver simple yet effective environmental management. Higher Level aims to deliver significant environmental benefits using more complex environmental management.

4. England has been divided into 159 areas with similar landscape character. These are called Joint Character Areas. These have previously been used to target Environmental Stewardship and are used as part of the Countryside Quality Counts (CQC) assessment of how the quality of the countryside is changing. CQC is a project started in 2002 to monitor how the countryside is changing. It has reported twice: in 2004 and 2007. It aims to understand how and where change is occurring, and most importantly, where change matters the most. This information can be used to help plan future landscapes and inform change that delivers public benefits, enhancing and maintaining the character and quality of our countryside for present and future generations. The seven landscapes themes covered in the CQC criteria are woodlands and trees, boundary features, agricultural land cover, settlement and development patterns, semi-natural habitats, historic features and river and coastal features. The successful management of many of these features of the countryside is dependent on the Environmental Stewardship scheme.