News Archive

2009

2008

More October news in brief

Nigel Curry gave the Keynote address at the South West Chamber of Rural Enterprise Annual Seminar at Biction Agricultural College, Devon in October. He spoke on the benefits of zero economic growth for rural areas.

Nigel Curry examined a PhD at the University of Brighton in October on the voices of young people in active woodland recreation development.

Nigel Curry has been invited to advise on curriculum development for postgraduate courses at the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities, University of Alberta, Augustana, Canada. http://www.augustana.ualberta.ca/centres/acsrc/ He will visit in March 2010.

Janet Dwyer has been elected as a member of the Editorial Board for the peer-reviewed journal 'Environmental Science and Policy', which is published by Elsevier.

James Jones was elected as the new Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Agriculural Economics Society for a four year term starting in March 2010 at the Executive meeting that took place in London on 30th October 2009.

James Kirwan has had the following paper accepted for publication.
Morris, C. and Kirwan, J. (2010) Food commodities, geographical knowledges and the reconnection of production and consumption: the case of naturally embedded food products. Geoforum.

Damian Maye and Brian Ilbery have had the following papers accepted for publication.
Little, R., Maye, D., Ilbery, B. (2010) Collective purchase: moving local and organic foods beyond the niche market. Environment and Planning A.
Ilbery, B., Maye, D., Watts, D and Holloway, L. (2010) Property matters: agricultural restructuring and changing landlord-tenant relationships in England. Geoforum.

Damian Maye has been nominated as a Committee Member of the Rural Geography Research Group of the RGS-IBG. He will serve on the Committee until 2012.

The future of the countryside

27 October 2009

"Rural areas are coming into a new time of importance as the combined pressures of the shortage of resources and climate change make questions of land use and food production pressing in a way that they have not been for many years."

These were the sentiments of Sir Don Curry, former Chair of the Sustainable Farming and Food Delivery Group and author of the influential 2002 Curry Report, as he opened the 'CCRI Rural Policy and Local Assets' conference at the Queens Hotel in Cheltenham on 21 October.

A number of prominent speakers facilitated stimulating topical debate on many of today's 'hot' rural issues, such as food security, which is currently under threat due to climate change and population growth.

Matt Reed, who was one of the organisers, said "The policy conference provided an ideal opportunity to present contemporary rural topics based on evidence from CCRI's latest research, and to open them up for discussion and debate by national and local policy makers, NGOs, researchers and academics."

Over 70 people representing national and local policy makers, NGOs, researchers and academics from across England, Wales and Scotland, attended the Policy Conference.

The first two presentations considered the importance of localism in the coming century, each focusing on different aspects of the topic. The first, presented by James Kirwan and Damian Maye, considered the role of local food in the emerging debate about food security. The second was presented by Julie Ingram and Chris Short, and reviewed the research of the CCRI and how it has focused on the interaction between farmer decision-making and its impact on the wider landscape. This was followed by an observation of the role of 'assets' and the different form that those assets can take in rural areas, presented by Malcolm Moseley and based on his recently published book ‘Glimpses’.

Matt Reed then reflected on research he and colleagues at the Open University had undertaken about the language used in the promotion of organic food, and the role that language plays in allowing alternative ideas to be formulated. This was followed by a presentation by Nigel Curry and Rhiannon Fisher on an exciting new research project, which looks at the role older people play in creating the social and civic life of rural areas. This was accompanied by the first results of the social survey work underpinning this project.

The conference also considered the broader landscape in which rural policy is taking place and the directions that it could take in response to recent global events. Graham Garbutt, recently retired from his successive roles as Chief Executive of the Countryside Agency and the Commission for Rural Communities, reflected on his experiences and the likely pressures on future rural policy. Janet Dwyer of the CCRI considered the pressures on rural policy and the likely changes that will take place in EU policy.

To bring the conference to a close, key note listeners Professor Chris Gaskell, Principal of the Royal Agricultural College, and Ian Baker, Head of Economy and Research at Defra, led a debate which ranged from the likely impacts of public spending cuts on rural policies, the extent and nature of rural social exclusion and the future structure of rural policy.

The powerpoint presentations given at the conference can be downloaded via our conference web page

Future of organic food

19/10/09

For the first time, an integrated analysis of organic farming focusing on all three areas of marketing, consumer behaviour and production has been conducted. The report, which was commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was led by the University of Exeter's Centre for Rural Policy and Research, and co-authored by the CCRI.

The research reveals a highly committed set of consumers and a general need to improve awareness about what organic does and doesn't mean. The report also provided new evidence on the problems and prospects for organic farming.

The research findings show that consumers of organic food cite concerns with health, food safety, environmental impacts, food miles and a desire to support British farmers as important underlying reasons for making purchases. These concerns translate into expectations, which the consumers bring to their understanding of organic food. The most significant overall factor among 84% of the organic consumers surveyed is the view that organic produce is healthier for consumers and children.

The socio-economic impact of organic farming on rural areas has its limitations according to the report. Despite impressive growth in recent years, food production by organic farmers is still relatively small compared to other sectors of agriculture in England and Wales. As a result, the report suggests that organic production does not offer policy makers a broad enough platform to launch rural development polices. However, it does argue that organic production involving large numbers of small locally embedded producers is, nonetheless likely to be beneficial to rural economies, albeit in geographically uneven ways.

The research, which surveyed over 21% of all organic farm land in England and Wales, indicates that a predominance of large scale farms which supply national markets, such as supermarkets, are located in Wales, the North East and the East and West Midlands. Farms in the North West and Yorkshire and Humberside tend to focus more on their regional markets. A large number of smaller farms are concentrated in the South East, South West and the Eastern region and are strongly orientated towards selling to their local market through box schemes, own farm shop and farmers’ markets etc. This group of producers, locally embedded and linked to consumers via short supply chains, fulfil the expectations of many organic consumers and exemplify the idea of alternative food producers.

The research also reveals that expectations surrounding the purchase of organic vegetables rested on being free from chemical residues, environmentally beneficial and GM-free; with 93% of consumers thinking that organic vegetables should be free from pesticides. This was coupled with the belief that they would taste better. In contrast, the focus on organic meat relied on the maintenance of high animal welfare standards, use of free range systems and the meat being free of growth hormones. Similarly, organic milk was expected to have been produced to the highest animal welfare standards and was not expected to be as cheap as non-organic milk. It was also considered to be free from antibiotics and safer than non-organic milk. In all of these contexts expectations go significantly beyond the requirements of the organic certification.

The report predicts a healthy future for organic farming, and identifies a general trend towards increasing areas farmed over the coming years, adding more marketing channels and increasing on-farm processing. As a consequence of this, employment is likely to increase in some rural areas through adding value to their output through retailing, packaging or distributing their produce. Farmers that add value to their produce have a more diverse marketing approach to selling their organic produce and are typically more local in market focus.

The CCRI component of the project was led by Brian Ilbery and also involves Damian Maye, Paul Courtney, James Kirwan, Matt Reed and Carol Kambites

The summary and full report will be available for download from the University of Exeter website: http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/crpr/ and also the Defra website.

Click here to view full press release

IASC Conference Keynote Speaker wins Nobel Prize

19/10/09

One of the keynote speakers from the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons, which was organised by the CCRI, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics.

Elinor Ostrom won this coveted prize for her work ‘Governing the Commons: the evolution of institutions for collective action’. Dr Ostrom is currently Professor of Political Science at Indiana University in the United States.

The 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons was held at the University of Gloucestershire’s Park Campus in July 2008, and was attended by over 500 delegates from 71 different countries which is illustrative of the significance of commons issues and the benefits of collective action in many parts of the world.

Elinor Ostrom’s crucial work over the past twenty years or so has shown that shared resources are often best managed by the users of that property, who develop and enforce a framework to prevent over-exploitation. This is often at odds with the more popular belief that the solution lies in government regulation and intervention or privatisation of the resource. During the conference she not only delivered the Keynote Speech at the conference dinner but also gave a Master Class to a group of younger researchers including students from the University of Gloucestershire and other local universities. This opportunity was made possible by the support of the counties Ernest Cook Trust.

Chris Short, Senior Research Fellow at the CCRI and Co-Chair of the conference: ‘Elinor Ostrom’s is clearly worthy of this momentous award, so fitting that the first woman to win this accolade should be someone who has fought against the tide of conventional thinking in the management of global natural resources and other areas of common property. Her message is highly relevant to not only the management of common land in the UK but also a much wider range of shared resources where collective action offers the most sustainable solution. This may be catchment sensitive farming, landscape scale management for biodiversity or carbon storage or the multi-use areas around cities. ‘We congratulate Elinor and are delighted that she has put commons, in their widest sense, and collective action firmly on the map,’ Chris concludes.

James Kirwan and Damian Maye in Ireland

15/10/09

James Kirwan and Damian Maye have been visiting Ireland in connection with the RuDi project. They visited the National Ploughing Championships in Kildare to undertake some fieldwork with Leader groups in Ireland, and they are undertaking a case study of the new Leader programme in Ireland as part of RuDI.

Whilst there they were interviewed by Tipperary FM on the Jim Finn show in relation to the RuDI project, and CCRI work and research plans in Ireland. The programme was broadcast on the 25th September.

Dr Vaughan HigginsAustralian academic presents paper at CCRI Seminar Series

12/10/09

The CCRI was delighted to welcome Dr Vaughan Higgins from Monash University, Victoria, who visited the Institute to discuss a potential research project with Damian Maye, comparing Australian and UK biosecurity measures for plant disease. As part of his visit, Dr Higgins made a presentation for the CCRI Seminar Series on some work that he has been doing on the Australian side. The paper was entitled 'Biosecurity Risk and the (Anti)Politics of Trade Liberalisation: The Case of New Zealand Apple Imports into Australia'. Click here to download an abstract.

Dr Janet DwyerJanet Dwyer at Brussels conference

02/10/09

Dr Janet Dwyer, Reader in the Countryside and Community Research Institute, (pictured left), was the closing speaker for an important seminar on 1st October, which was organised by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional Policy (DG Regio), on the role of EU regional policy in Rural Development, in Brussels. The title of Janet's talk was 'Improving coherence and co-ordination between policies and funds for rural areas'.

Professor Brian Ilbery elected President of Professor Brian Ilberythe Geography section of the British Science Association

01/10/09

Brian Ilbery, Professor of Rural Studies in the CCRI, (pictured right), has been elected as President of the Geography section of the British Science Association for 2009-2010. Brian’s main role is to convene and host a session at the 2010 British Science Association Festival, which is one of Europe's largest science festivals. The Festival takes place every September at a different UK location, and in 2010 will be hosted by the University of Aston between14-19 September, with an overarching theme of 'better lives through science’.

Professor Ilbery plans to convene a session on 'food security and infectious diseases', with a range of invited speakers from both natural and social science. More information can be found on http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/web/britishsciencefestival/index.htm

Papers accepted

01/10/09

Researchers in the Countryside and Community Research Institute have recently had the following papers accepted for publication:

Ilbery, B., Courtney, P., Kirwan, J. and Maye, D. (2010 - forthcoming) Marketing concentration and geographical dispersion: a survey of organic farms in England and Wales. British Food Journal.

Julie Urquhart research summary published

23/09/09

CCRI Student Julie Urquhart is in the final stages of submitting her PhD, which explores the potential for public goods to be delivered through private ownership of forests and woodland. In conjunction with her research findings, she has written a summary note for the Forestry Commission, who co-funded her PhD studies. You can click here to download the summary, which will soon be published on the Forestry Commission website.

Julie's PhD was supervised by Dr Paul Courtney (CCRI) and Professor Bill Slee (Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen).

Visiting International Academics to present lectures at CCRI Seminar Series

22/09/09

The CCRI are hosting two international academics who will present lectures as part of the CCRI Seminar Series.

Mark ShepheardThe first will take place on Tuesday 29 September and will be presented by Mark Shepheard (pictured left), a mature PhD student from the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law at the University of New England. Mark is visiting the CCRI between Tuesday 29 September and Thursday 1 October and his seminar is based on his PhD research and is entitled ‘Farmers' stewardship responsibility and a duty of care'. Click here for abstract. The lecture will start at 12h15 and will take place at the Park Campus of the University of Gloucestershire. Room to be confirmed.

On the 8th and 9th of October, the CCRI will be hosting Dr Vaughan Higgins from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, who is coming to discuss research ideas related to biosecurity and disease management. Dr Hughes will be giving a seminar on Thursday 8 October entitled ‘Biosecurity Risk and the (Anti)Politics of Trade Liberalisation: The Case of New Zealand Apple Imports into Australia’. Click here for abstract. The lecture will start at 12h15 and will take place in Room FW01A at the Park Campus at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham.

The seminars which form the CCRI Seminar Series are free to attend and all are welcome. For more information please contact Jill Harper

Sir Don Curry to open CCRI Policy Conference

09/09/09

Sir Don CurrySir Don Curry, (pictured left), Chair of the Sustainable Farming and Food Delivery Group and author of the influential Curry Report, will be opening the CCRI Policy Conference in Cheltenham on 21 October 2009.

The conference, entitled 'Rural Policy and Local Assets', will feature a number of notable guest speakers who will be stimulating topical and forward looking debates centred on the 'hot' rural issues facing us today, such as food security which is currently threatened by climate change and population growth. Also under debate will be rural assets, environmental change and European rural policy. In addition to Sir Don Curry, speakers include Graham Garbutt, recent Chief Executive of the Commission for Rural Communities; Ian Baker, Head of Economy and Research at Defra; and Chris Gaskell, Principal of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester.

Organiser Dr Paul Courtney, who is an Assistant Director of the CCRI, says "This policy conference presents an opportunity for the cutting edge research of the CCRI to be discussed with a diverse range of policy experts and opinion formers, at a time when debates about climate change and food policy are set to transform the role of rural areas in our society."

There is still time to book a place at this exciting and topical event. The conference is being held in the prestigious Queens Hotel in central Cheltenham on October 21st 2009. For more information, please telephone the CCRI on 01242 714122, email ccri@glos.ac.uk, or go to http://www.ccri.ac.uk/Events/PolicyConference2009.htm where you can find full information and book online. The delegate fee includes lunch.

New Book Available Now: Glimpses of Rural England by Malcolm Moseley

23/06/09

Glimpses of Rural EnglandMalcolm Moseley, CCRI’s Professor of Rural Community Development, has published a new book which provides glimpses of life in England's villages and small towns at the start of the 21st century.

The book, entitled Glimpses of Rural England, draws upon a mass of expensively gathered survey material and nine research reports produced between 2004 and 2007 are revisited and reappraised. Each was in large measure the work of the CCRI, often working in partnership with other institutions, with funding from government agencies involved in rural development.

Concise chapters cover parish and market town plans, access to services, the drivers of rural change, the benefits of village halls, rural community enterprises, local social capital, parish council effectiveness, local economic development and the economic impact of Rural Community Councils. Collectively they draw on interviews with some 1,500 people spread across dozens of local communities and on the systematic analysis of sheaves of documentary evidence. Click here for preview.

What comes through are a number of insights into social exclusion, social and human capital, service delivery and local governance in a rural context. But the core message is that asset-based community development should lie at the heart of sustainable rural development.

You can order this book now via our Online Store. Price £9.95.

First Announcement: CCRI Rural Policy Conference

19/06/09

The CCRI has announced its forthcoming one day conference on Rural Policy and Local Assets, which will take place on Wednesday 21 October at Queens Hotel, Cheltenham.

This important event in the 2009 calendar is targeted at members of the local, regional and national policy and practice community with an interest in rural affairs.

The conference will be opened by Sir Don Curry, Chair of the Sustainable Farming and Food Delivery Group and author of the influential Curry Report.

Several rural research and policy papers will be presented throughout the day, cohering around the themes of Localism in the 21st Century, the Future of Rural Policy in the UK and Europe and Rural Assets: What’s the interest?

If you are interested in receiving further details about the CCRIs Rural Policy and Local Assets conference, please email ccri@glos.ac.uk

First Wave of MSc Graduates in European Rural Development

12/06/09

Miroslava Cekovic (Croatia) and Carol Flux (UK) are the first students to graduate with a Master’s Degree from the ERD programme. In addition both students will graduate with an MSc Merit award.

Miroslava’s dissertation research studied the role of non-government organisations in the design and implementation of rural development policy in Istria, Croatia. She found that development policy was largely shaped by a small number of politicians and professional experts with little involvement from other stakeholders. The limited NGO involvement was attributed to cultural factors such as lack of trust and low levels of knowledge.

Carol’s dissertation research explored the local economic impacts of the EU LEADER programme expenditure on the Isle of Wight. She disaggregated and analysed project expenditure data associated with LEADER activities over the period 2001-2008. She found that significant amounts of funding remain within the local economy although there were significant differences in procurement patterns related to size and nature of organisations.

The ERD programme has also produced a range of other graduates this year. Laura Janis and Hanna-Mari Kuhmonen from Finland have both completed the Post Graduate Certificate in European Rural Development; and Anna Knight from the Government Office Yorkshire and Humber Region, has completed the Post-Graduate Diploma.

For more information on this course, click here or contact the Course Leader Dr John Powell on telephone +44 (0) 1242 714129 or on e-mail: jpowell@glos.ac.uk

Forthcoming European Seminar

Paul Courtney and Ian Smith, Director of the Cities Research Centre at UWE, are currently undertaking a preparatory study for a seminar on urban-rural linkages fostering social cohesion. The seminar, which is the third in a recent series examining the potential for rural-urban cooperation in Europe, is being held in Brussels on July 2nd 2009.

Following introductory speeches from DG Regio and key note addresses, Paul and Ian will be presenting their position paper, which focuses on conceptual and theoretical issues and findings from seven mini case studies from around Europe where they have sought to draw out examples and good practice of urban-rural interactions. The researchers will then be inviting comment and discussion from seminar participants and representatives of the case studies. The event will end with reactions from two key note listeners: Professor Mark Shucksmith (OBE) of the University of Newcastle and Dr Elena Saraceno, advisor on agricultural and rural policy for the European Commission. Further details and a draft programme can be found at: http://www.cureforsustainability.eu/index.php?id=7205

Professor Nigel Curry appointed to the Regional Rural Affairs Forum and the Regional Rural Advisory Group

03/06/09

Nigel Curry has been appointed to serve on both the South West Regional Rural Affairs Forum (RAF) and the South West Regional Rural Advisory Group (RAG). The RAF is the Government Office for the South West’s focal point for the assembly of information and the articulation of issues concerning all aspects of social, economic and environmental policy issues affecting rural communities in the South West. Nigel currently is taking an active part in the development of a rural strategy for the region. The RAG is an advisory body to the South West Regional Development Agency, which assists with the implementation of RDA rural policy. It has a particular interest at the moment in the implementation of the EU-driven Rural Development Programme for England as it is developing in the South West.

Nick Lewis wins third place in 145-mile Ultramarathon

03/06/09

Nick LewisIn difficult conditions, CCRI Research Assistant Nick Lewis (pictured right) put in a great performance to finish third in the Grand Union Canal Race, a 145-mile Ultramarathon from Birmingham to London.

The event took place over the hot Bank Holiday weekend, and the hot weather took its toll on the runners. Many retired or failed to reach the first cut-off point at 70 miles, and of the 86 who started the race, only 34 completed it. This was Nick's second attempt at the event, finishing in ninth place last year. Despite a painful foot towards the end of the race, he managed to knock three hours off his previous time to finish third. Well done Nick!

Stephen Owen appointed Chairman of Gloucestershire Environmental Trust

2/6/09

Professor Stephen Owen has been appointed Chairman of Gloucestershire Environmental Trust in succession to Professor Adrian Phillips. The Trust provides grants to the value of £700,000 from funds generated by the Landfill Communities Fund for the benefit of Gloucestershire, its people and its environment. The Trust is funded under the scheme by Cory Environmental (Gloucestershire) Ltd, which owns and manages the waste management operations in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Cirencester.

Damian MayeDamian Maye awarded visiting scholarship

02/06/09

Damian Maye (pictured right) has been awarded a distinguished visiting scholarship from Monash University's Faculty of Arts in Victoria, Australia. He will be visiting Monash University in March 2010 for one month. The purpose of the visit will be to build a project proposal with Dr. Vaughan Higgins and Dr. Jacqui Dibden that aims to compare the governance of pest and disease risk in Australia and UK agriculture at both a policy and farm level. The proposed project would extend the RELU 'Growing risk' research project on plant disease with which Damian is currently involved. Dr. Higgins will also be visiting the CCRI in October 2009 as part of on-going collaboration.

Professor Tom Woolley to present at INTBAU Ireland Summer Conference

02/06/09

Tom Woolley Professor Tom Woolley (pictured left) will be giving a presentation at the INTBAU (International network for traditional building, architecture and urbanism) Ireland Summer Conference 'Design Quality In Architecture and Rural Design' on 29th June 2009 in Dublin. Tom's presentation will be entitled 'Using traditional and natural materials in low energy new buildings and renovation'. More information can be found on the INTBAU website.

Professor Curry meets with Minister of State for Higher Education

12/05/09

The Director of the CCRI, Professor Nigel Curry, met with the Minister of State for Higher Education, David Lammy on 7 May, to discuss the development of the sustainability agenda in higher education. As well as issues of policy and funding, consideration was given to the importance of 'localisation' within the sustainability agenda and the significant role that universities have to pay in acting as examples of good practice for the local communities in which they are situated. In this respect, developments in local food production being introduced at the University of Gloucestershire through its ‘edible garden’ scheme were considered particularly important. Mr Lammy was impressed by the ‘edible garden’ scheme, which is a practical project run by the University, the St Paul’s Road Area Residents’ Association and Gloucestershire Police where students and local residents work together to grow various vegetables and edible flowers.

Professor Brian Ilbery's inaugural lecture is a success

30/04/09

Professor Brian Ilbery

In front of a large and wide-ranging audience Professor Brian Ilbery (pictured right) presented his inaugural lecture at the University of Gloucestershire Park Campus on Tuesday night.

The University of Gloucestershire Vice Chancellor gave a warm welcome to the audience and introduced Professor Ilbery, whose lecture, entitled 'Food supply chains: the long and short of it', argued that the food supply chain is inherently a spatial concept, reflecting the changing relationship between the three 'Ps': product, process and place. The lecture focused on the changing nature of food supply chains, from what was originally a fairly localised phenomenon to one that became increasingly delocalised and, for some chains, then relocalised.

The lecture was well received by a good cross-section of people, from academics and government representatives to members of specific bodies/agencies and the general public. Director of the CCRI, Professor Nigel Curry, rounded off the presentation with a congratulatory and sometimes amusing vote of thanks to Brian. And to wrap up an enjoyable evening, talking about food supply chains seemed to prompt considerable discussion during the food and drink that followed the presentation! The lecture was video recorded and will soon be available on the University of Gloucestershire website.

Details of 8th National Seminar on Common Land and Town and Village Greens announced

30/04/09

Preparations are now underway for the organization of the 8th National Seminar on Common Land and Town and Village Greens, which is to be held on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September 2009 at the University of Gloucestershire, at the Oxstalls Campus in Gloucester. The CCRI is delighted that the recently formed 'Foundation for Common Land in Britain and Ireland' is, together with Defra and Natural England, sponsoring this event.

This series of seminars continues to play a vital role on the understanding and implementation of the Commons Act 2006, as well as new initiatives and best practice concerning the protection and management of common land and town and village greens. The 2009 Seminar will seek to showcase local level examples of good practice alongside the latest updates concerning the Commons Act 2006 and other areas such as livestock movement controls and the Planning Act 2008. A full programme including delegate fees will be available by the end of June 2009, but in the meantime more information can be found on our website.

Peter Gaskell working with BBC Radio 4 Farming Today Programmes

08/04/09

Peter Gaskell has been working with the BBC Radio4 Farming Today programme to produce a series of articles on historic farm buildings.

You can download and listen to the programmes at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/farming/

Study of Registered Town and Village Greens Applications

30/03/09

The CCRI has recently secured a four month contract from Defra to examine a sample of the sites which have been registered as town or village greens since January 2004, as well as a sample of those that have been unsuccessful in applying to be registered. The project will examine the characteristics of the site and what it has been used for in the past while at the same time looking at the status of the site in local development plans and planning applications. The aim is to ascertain the characteristics of newly registered Town and Village Greens in the twenty first century. The project is led by Chris Short with contributions from Professor Steve Owen, Dr Carol Kambites and Dr Owain Jones and should be concluded by July 2009.

Paper accepted for publication

26/03/09

A paper written by Damian Maye and Brian Ilbery (together with D Watts) has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Rural Studies. The paper, which is entitled ‘Farm diversification, tenancy and CAP reform: results from a survey of tenant farmers in England’ is likely to be published late this year, or early next year.

Professor Curry appointed to Board of Governors of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute

24/3/09

Professor Nigel Curry, Director of the CCRI (pictured right), has been appointed to membership of the Board of Governors of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (MLURI) in Aberdeen.

Professor Curry, who has undertaken over 30 years research into aspects of the rural economy, the planning process and rural communities in rural areas, will be offering strategic advice to the Board of the MLURI, particularly in respect to the socio-economic aspects of their work.

The MLURI is a leading international land use research institute with a central commitment to research on the environmental, economic and social impacts of rural land use, and their policy and management consequences. It is core funded by the Scottish Executive and undertakes a proportion of its work to inform Scottish rural policy.

The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute has an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to its work with some 280 staff working in disciplines spanning soil science, catchment management, climate change, land use systems and ecology as well as geographers, socio-economists and IT specialists. Staff work in collaboration with a large number of other research organisations both nationally and internationally aiming to achieve sustainable rural land use and research that supports informed choices for future land use.

Professor Curry will serve for a three-year term in the first instance.

Paper published

23/3/09

A paper co-written by CCRI Research Fellow Matt Reed has now been published in Talk and Text.

The paper reports on a research project which combined corpus analysis, interviews,and focus group discussions to investigate the discourse of organic food promotion in Britain, the thinking behind it, and how people react to it. The findings contribute not only to an understanding of food politics and persuasive discourse more generally, but also to the development of discourse analytic methodology which integrates textual analysis with investigation of sender and receiver perceptions.

The paper is entitled 'But it's all true!: Commercialism and commitment in the discourse of organic food promotion' and was published in Talk and Text, 29-2 (2009), pp. 151-173.

Janet Dwyer invited to write review paper for Government

16/03/09

Dr Janet Dwyer has been invited as an expert to write a review paper for the Government's foresight exercise on 'Land Use Futures', reviewing likely policy and legal commitments affecting UK land use over the next 50 years. The paper will be published in a special edition of the journal 'Land Use Policy', planned for autumn 2009.

Forthcoming Seminar 'Farming Floodplains for the Future'

09/03/09

The CCRI is holding a joint seminar with the Centre for the Study of Floods and Communities. The seminar is entitled 'Farming Floodplains for the Future', and will take place at University of Gloucestershire Park Campus, Cheltenham GL50 2RH in Room FW013 on Thursday 26th March, 2009 between 12.15 hrs -13.15 hrs. The speaker is Matt Jones, the Wetlands Officer at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

Farming Floodplains for the Future is a national pilot project with the key aim of developing an understanding of how the farmed landscape can be viably managed in ways that reduce flood risk downstream, while also enhancing the natural environment. This seminar will examine the potential role of land management and land use in more sustainable flood risk management in the context of this project. For further information click here.

If you would like to attend this seminar please email Jill Harper to reserve a place.

flooded fields in Gloucestershire

Paper published investigating the socio-economic linkages of organic and non organic farms in England

09/03/09

CCRI Senior Research Fellow Matt Reed (pictured right) has co-written a paper (with M Lobley and A Butler) on the contribution of organic farming to rural development: an exploration of the socio-economic linkages of organic and non organic farms in England. The paper, is published in Land Use Policy (Vol. 26, issue 3, July 2009), has caught the attention of the Food Climate Research Network who recently highlighted the paper in their regular newsletter.

The paper investigates whether organic farming provides more rural development benefits through enhanced employed and through closer connections with the local economy than non-organic farming. It considers the generation and retention of income, purchasing patterns, and direct employment impacts of a large sample of organic and non-organic farmers in England and reveals some important distinctions between the characteristics of organic and non-organic farms and farmers. It argues that most of these differences do not stem directly from differences in farming systems but, rather, reflect considerable differences in the people who operate organic farms as well as the distinctive business configurations they frequently adopt.

The paper shifts the focus of the debate away from simplistic notions that equate organic production with local supply and assume a local economic benefit, towards a broader conception of the local agro-food economy in which some farms have strong local connections while others focus their efforts elsewhere and earn important export income for the local economy.

Please contact Dr Matt Reed if you would like further information.

‘Food supply chains: the long and short of it' - Inaugural Lecture to be presented by Professor Brian Ilbery

10/02/09

Brian Ilbery, CCRI Professor of Rural Studies (pictured left), will be presenting his inaugural lecture at the University of Gloucestershire on Tuesday 28 April 2009.

His lecture is entitled 'Food supply chains: the long and short of it'.

It is argued that the food supply chain is inherently a spatial concept, reflecting the changing relationship between the three 'Ps': product, process and place. Professor Ilbery's lecture will focus on the changing nature of food supply chains, from what was originally a fairly localised phenomenon to one that became increasingly delocalised and, for some chains, then relocalised.

Concentrating on the two phases of food delocalisation and food relocalisation, the lecture will explore how the so-called 'productivist' phase of agriculture (up to the mid-1980s), driven by favourable support policies under the CAP and globalisation processes, resulted in the place of production becoming increasingly distanced from the point of consumption; hence the 'distancing' of product and place. This led to many farmers losing control over agricultural production, with most 'value added' going to nodes further down the chain. It will then examine attempts to 'reconnect' product and place through the encouragement of shorter food supply chains, whereby some control is given back to farmers.

The lecture will take place at 6pm in Room TC014, University of Gloucestershire, Park Campus, Cheltenham, on Tuesday 28th April 2009. It is free of charge and all are welcome to attend. However, it would be appreciated if you could advise your intention to attend to Inaugurallectures@glos.ac.uk, or Jill Harper.

CCRI contributes to land use debate

27/01/09

The CCRI contributed to a debate organised by the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme on land use strategy and how RELU research could influence land use in the UK.

Two land use policy analysts were appointed to draw out relevant findings from across a range of RELU research projects to identify cross cutting and strategic ideas to be fed back into the policy making process via the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and the Scottish Government. The two ensuing reports can be found online The CCRI and other organisations, including RSPB, Marks and Spencer, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Woodland Trust, were invited to contribute to the debate. Some of these contributions, including the CCRI's, can also be accessed online

This work was funded by the UK research councils, Defra, the Scottish Government and the Commission for Rural Communities.

RELU is organising a conference which will take place in London on 4 June, entitled 'The Future of Rural Land Use', which will be attended by several CCRI staff.

Scottish Rural Community Buildings Under Scrutiny

27/01/09

Professor Malcolm Moseley helped with the analysis and interpretation of data for a report produced for the Scottish Government entitled 'Community Facilities in Rural Scotland: A Study of Their Use, Provision and Condition'. The report can be accessed on line at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/01/05144855/0

The research was led by Dr Sarah Skerratt and colleagues at the Scottish Agricultural College and involved both desk research and an extensive survey of rural Scotland's community buildings - mainly village halls and similar meeting places. The research objective was 'to gather and analyse data on the current provision and condition of rural community facilities in Scotland and to assess the nature and level of their use'. As is broadly the case in England, the picture is one of an immensely valuable, but sometimes underused, community resource and of great management challenges for the 'faithful few' who work hard to keep the facility thriving in their locality.

CCRI delighted with RAE results

12/01/09

The CCRI was delighted to learn of its December RAE results in which its research between 2001 and 2008 was evaluated by the Higher Education Funding Council.

In this latest evaluation, 40% of its work was considered to be internationally excellent and of the 40% more than 10% was considered world leading. A further 45% of all of the CCRI's work was considered to be internationally recognised. Some 85% of our work therefore is considered to be of international standing. The panel that assessed the CCRI's research also found its research environment to be 'excellent' and a commendation was given for the CCRI’s “strong emphasis on policy relevance” in its research work.

Owain Jones to present paper at Welfare Quality International Conference in Florence

08/01/09

CCRI Research Fellow Dr Owain Jones (pictured right) is presenting a paper at the Welfare Quality International Conference in Florence, Italy. The conference is entitled 'Knowing Animals: cross-fertilisation between natural and social sciences for understanding the quality of life of animals' and takes place on the 5 /6 March 2009. http://www.knowinganimals.org/

Owain Jones will also be convening a session on 'Geography and Memory' at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference, Manchester, which takes place 26-28 August 2009 (www.rgs.org/AC2009). The conference is co-sponsored by the History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group and the Social & Cultural Geography Research Group.

And last, but not least, Owain has been invited to be an external examiner on a PhD in King's College London.

CCRI teams up with UWEs Cities Research Centre for work on rural-urban linkages

7/1/09

Ian Smith, Director of the Cities Research Centre at UWE (http://www.built-environment.uwe.ac.uk/research/cities/), and Paul Courtney, Assistant Director of the CCRI, have recently won a grant from DG Regio to carry out a preparatory study for a seminar on urban-rural linkages fostering social cohesion. The seminar, which is the third in a recent series examining the potential for rural-urban cooperation in Europe, will be held in Brussels in summer 2009. As well as facilitating the seminar, Ian and Paul will be writing working papers and undertaking a series of small European case studies on rural-urban linkages and social cohesion.

CCRI involved in new ESPON study on rural development

7/1/09

Paul Courtney attended the first project meeting of a new study on European Development Opportunities for Rural Areas (EDORA) held in Haarlem on Dec 12th 2008. The study, which is being coordinated by Andrew Copus at the University of Highlands and Islands and Petri Kahila of Nordregio, Sweden, is funded under the EUs ESPON 2013 programme. In the research, which involves 16 academic partners from across the European Union, Paul’s role is to lead a programme of work examining the role of urban-rural interactions in facilitating European rural development opportunities. The project will run for two years.

Common Resources feature in New Agriculturist

6/1/09

Following the success of the The 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons organised by the CCRI in July 2008, the latest edition of the New Agriculturist features some of the stories which were discussed at the conference. These can be found at http://www.new-ag.info/08/06/focuson.php. An article regarding community-agreed zoning of 22,000 hectares of land in Kenya, which has attracted much attention, is based on material the New Agriculturist has been recently collecting for a BBC World Service two-part series they will be producing in 2009, "The return of the nomads".

Information on The 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons can be found at http://www.ccri.ac.uk/Events/Conf_IASC.htm

Economic benefits of heritage presented at upland conference

6/1/09

Paul Courtney presented findings from a series of projects undertaken by the CCRI on the economic benefits of heritage restoration in English National Parks at the Moors for the Future Annual Conference on Living Upland landscapes, Peak District, 24-25 Nov 2008. The presentation drew on three projects commissioned by English Heritage between 2005 and 2008, the most recent of which was a scoping study on the wider socio-economic benefits of heritage in National Parks that was completed in October 2008. The research was undertaken by Paul Courtney, Peter Gaskell and Jane Mills of the CCRI.

CCRI Winter School

5/1/09

The CCRI Winter School took place prior to Christmas at Hawkwood College, Near Stroud.

The event enabled 16 post graduate students to present their current research to other students and CCRI academics. The guest speaker was a former CCRI Research Fellow, Professor Milbourne of the Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Cardiff, who gave a talk 'placing poverty: material hardship, community and environment in rural Wales'.

Staff and students also enjoyed a tour of Hawkwood College and Stroud Community Farm (see picture above).

Richard Harper receives his doctorate

8/12/08

CCRI postgraduate student Richard Harper was presented with his doctorate at the University of Gloucestershire awards ceremony last week.Richard Harper receives his PhD

Richard's thesis investigated the relationship between policy making in countryside recreational access and citizenship in England. It focused on the actions of policy makers involved in the development of the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000, which were interpreted using van Gunsteren's neorepublican model of citizenship. Richard was supervised by Dr. Peter Gaskell (CCRI) (pictured with Richard), Professor Nigel Curry (CCRI) and Dr. Nicky Williams (Business School, University of Gloucestershire).

CCRI Seminar Series

05/12/08

The CCRI Seminar Series continues on Thursday 11th December with a presentation by Constance Fleuriot of Pervasive Media Studios, Bristol. Constance is an expert in the next generation of pervasive computing, which potentially could have rural applications, and she will be talking about the development of MediaScapes which offers a whole new way of presenting and experiencing information. It has been developed in Bristol in part by Hewlett Packard Research labs and academic partners.

The seminar will take place at the University of Gloucestershire Park Campus in Room FW13, from 12.15pm to 1.15pm. Dr Owain Jones is the convenor of the series and can be contacted on 01242 715315 ojones@glos.ac.uk

CCRI and ERD students involved in Audio Feedback project

4/12/08

The CCRI is taking part in a project that will test the usefulness of audio feedback on student teaching and learning.

James Kirwan, Matt Reed and Chris Short are involved in the project which is being directed by Kenny Lynch, Deputy Director of the Pedagogic and Scholarship Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire. Both James Kirwan and Matt Reed have been testing this on students taking the Masters course in European Rural Development (ERD). Since the ERD students are studying some distance from Cheltenham it presented an ideal opportunity to use audio technology such as MP3. The project is looking to examine the creation and delivery of audio feedback from the perspective of academic staff and students. The activity will be used alongside existing distance learning techniques in terms of introducing new topics, providing general feedback to students as well as specific feedback on assignments.

James Kirwan states "it seems sensible to use technology that students are familiar with and it may be that staff are able to say more using this method than they can by writing on the submitted work or by typing feedback. It may also be that this approach provides a stronger connection between lecturer and student on distance learning programmes".

Chris Short invited to speak at Rural Economy Department, University of Alberta in Edmonton

4/12/08

University of AlbertaChristopher Short was recently invited to give a presentation to the Rural Economy Department at the University of Alberta. The department is one of the largest in Canada and has a particular emphasis on public engagement and around issues of concern within their locality, such as the social impact of climate change and the environmental and economic impact of the oil production in the area. A traditionally strong agricultural and forestry area, there is also a great deal of rural restructuring which mirrors changes in Europe although the scale is very different. Chris spoke on the recently completed Commission for Rural Communities project 'Social contribution of land-based industries to rural communities'.

CCRI forms part of successful consortium to win EU project

1/12/08

The CCRI is part of a successful consortium for another research framework project FP7 CAPRI-RD which will start on 1 March 2009 and run for 5 years.

The project involves working with a team of economic modellers to attempt to expand the CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regional Impact) model, which supports decision making related to the Common Agricultural Policy based on sound scientific quantitative analysis.

This latest project aims to incorporate the rural development part of the CAP, so that changes in this policy can be examined, as well as the impacts across the wider rural economy and environment beyond the agricultural sector.

CCRI will be contributing its expertise on rural development policy, providing insights and experience on policy measures and what their impacts might be, as well as providing a link to related EC databases. The project will be led by Dr. Janet Dwyer, with assistance from Dr. Mike Clark and Sandrina Pereira.

The consortium is led by Institute for Food and Resource Economics at Bonn University. The partner institutions are the JRC (Joint Research Centre) units in Ispra, Italy, and Seville, Spain; Landbouw-Economisch Instituut, The Netherlands; Middle East Technical University, Turkey; the Von Thunen Institute in Germany, Ruralia Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Institute for European Environmental Policy, London, and the CCRI.

New Project -Entry and exit from agri-environmental schemes in Wales

1/12/08

The CCRI recently secured a new project for the Welsh Assembly Government's Department of Rural Affairs (DRA) that will contribute to the evidence base required for the full-scale review of all the agri-environment schemes (AES) funded as part of Rural Development Programme (RDP) that is currently being undertaken in Wales.

The project will focus on the reasons for farmers joining and leaving agri-environment schemes and their experience while on them. In particular it will help DRA to develop a greater understanding of key factors that lead to successful AES. Understanding what motivates farmers to join AES will assist DRA in promoting and targeting membership of new schemes. Understanding what affects farmers’ decisions to renew membership or exit schemes will also help DRA assess the likely intentions of farmers currently in Tir Gofal and ESA who are nearing the end of their agreements.

Julie Ingram is leading the project with assistance from Chris Short, Jane Mills, Pete Gaskell, Janet Dwyer, Nick Lewis and Rhiannon Fisher.

Dr Owain Jones invited to edit special edition of the Journal Surveillance & Society on Surveillance, Children and Childhood

1/12/08

Dr Owain Jones has been invited to edit a special edition of the Journal Surveillance & Society on Surveillance, Children and Childhood with co-editor Valerie Steeves of the University of Ottawa. Dr. Jones has also been invited to be external examiner on a PhD at the Dept of Geog Kings College University of London.

Learning from home - European Rural Development

25/11/08

Students from Spain, Croatia, Finland, Poland, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and the UK are currently enhancing their future careers in European rural development by studying on distance learning MSc programme run by the CCRI.

The MSc distance-learning programme in European Rural Development enables students to stay in their jobs and in their country of residence whilst improving their skills and knowledge of sustainable rural development policy and practice in Europe.

A half-bursary is currently on offer, which means that one half of the normal tuition fee will be paid for one lucky student.

The course is designed for those working in any part of Europe in the private, public and voluntary sectors, or in partnerships such as LEADER type groups, and can be studied in part time or full time mode.

The modules combine the theoretical context of the dynamics of rural change, with more practical approaches to the delivery and management of change through project and partnership-based action. A new module Food, Farming and Society (available from January 2009) will provide students with a theoretically-informed examination of the changing nature of farming and food in society, and will critically examine new research topics, including the rise of alternative and local food networks.

Download course brochure. Further information about the course and the bursary can be obtained from the Course Administrator Jill Harper, email jharper@glos.ac.uk, or 00 44 1242 714122

Interdisciplinary research project aims to find out what life in rural communities is like for Britain's ageing population

18/11/08

The Countryside and Community Research Institute is working with the University of Plymouth (lead partner), Bournemouth University, University of the West of England, Cardiff University and Swansea University to investigate how older people living in rural South West England and Wales interact with their local community, and what social and economic issues are important to them.

The project, valued at £1.1 million, is entitled 'Grey and Pleasant Land?: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Connectivity of Older People in Rural Civic Society'. The three-year study is one of a number funded under the ‘New Dynamics of Ageing’ programme. This seven-year research initiative, the largest research programme on ageing to date in the UK, is a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils – ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC – supporting scientists from across the disciplines to work together on research which will benefit the quality of life of older people.

The rural South West has been specifically chosen as a location for several of the Grey and Pleasant Land project study sites due to its position at the forefront of the demographic 'age wave'. The South West has the most ageing population of all regions in England which is growing faster than the overall UK population, and has the highest life expectancy of all regions. Rural Wales is experiencing similar demographic trends.

The study will focus on the quality of life of older people in rural areas by analysing the extent of their involvement in their communities, leisure patterns and cultural interests, the barriers and opportunities for participation that they experience and their attitudes to the countryside as a social, cultural and environmental space. From the findings, the research team will be able to offer policy and practical recommendations about how to promote older people in rural areas as community assets rather than as ‘problems’ and create awareness of the contribution that older people actually make to their communities.

For more information on the CCRI contribution to this project, please contact Professor Nigel Curry.

CCRI welcome Vietnamese delegation to discuss rural development in Vietnam

18/11/08

The CCRI welcomed the Vice-Minister of the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment Mr. Cao Viet Sinh (centre of picture), together with a Ministerial delegation from the Vietnam Chia Se programme which is concerned to develop poverty alleviation strategies, particularly in Vietnam’s poorer rural regions: http://chiase.mpi.gov.vn/Default.aspx?alias=chiase.mpi.gov.vn/en

Vice-Minister of the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment Mr. Cao Viet SinhThe delegation was principally concerned to visit government departments and agencies in England such as the Commission for Rural Communities and Natural England to hear of examples of good practice in rural development on the ground. The specifically asked to meet with the CCRI, however, to understand more of different approaches to rural development in an academic context. Professors Nigel Curry and Malcolm Moseley gave presentations on different approaches to rural development concentrating on community and asset based approaches. Professor Michael Dower explained his approach to the implementation of a rural development training programme that he had developed in Vietnam and discussed its relevance particularly to the remoter mountainous regions of North Vietnam.

The Vietnamese group were also visiting Commission for Rural Communities and Natural England to discuss local inclusion in Rural development in Vietnam.

Tom Woolley appointed CCRI Professor of Sustainable Rural Architecture

7/11/08

The CCRI has appointed Tom Woolley as a part-time Professor of Sustainable Rural Architecture. An architect and environmental researcher, Tom Woolley was Professor of Architecture at Queens University Belfast from 1991 to 2007 and is currently a Professor of Architecture at the Centre for Alternative Technology Graduate School of the Environment.

Professor Woolley is a particular expert on sustainable rural architecture and has published widely on the subject. Click here for more information on Tom Woolley.

New! CCRI short course programme

6/11/08

The CCRI now offers a short course programme. Built upon solid academic and research expertise, the short course programme is aimed to reflect the needs of practitioners in the field of rural community development.

The first course entitled 'Sustainable Rural Communities in England and Wales' takes place in January. Link to Short Course Programme details. For further information, please contact Dr. Matt Reed, telephone 00 44 (0) 1242 714138

New Partnership strengthens rural research capacity in CCRI

3/11/08

The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) has strengthened its capacity to tackle a wider range of rural research projects by joining forces with the Royal Agricultural College (RAC).

The RAC brings additional skills into the CCRI in the areas of agricultural economics, rural land management, agriculture and international consultancy. The potential for further developing international postgraduate education in a number of rural topics also is considerable with the combined staffing skills of four institutions to draw upon.

Professor Nigel Curry, Director of the CCRI (pictured left) commented, 'Collectively, the scope of the CCRI now that the RAC has joined is much broader than it was, allowing us to conduct research over a wider range of rural topics than before and for a broader range of clients. Our critical mass is now one of the largest in the UK for rural subjects which gives us both depth and flexibility in the work that we undertake. It is likely that these kinds of joint institutes within higher education will become more important in the future as we seek greater international visibility'.

Professor Chris Gaskell, Principal of The Royal Agricultural College, said, "The Royal Agricultural College is very pleased to be a part of the CCRI, a strong partnership supporting the countryside. With such issues as the management of the environment, food security and the use of ourland becoming ever more important, an understanding of the social and community aspects is crucial to the delivery of solutions, and the CCRI will be an important component in helping to provide that understanding”.

The CCRI is a collaboration between the Universities of Gloucestershire and the West of England, Hartpury College, and the RAC.

 

More than 100 rural decision makers attend Rural Services Conference

03/11/08

More than 100 rural decision-makers gathered at the University of Gloucestershire to discuss the challenge of sustaining rural communities.

The event,called Rural Services 2020, was organised by the CCRI on behalf of the Rural Services Network on Friday 24 October.

Speakers included organisers Rob Hindle of Rural Innovation and CCRI's Professor Malcolm Moseley, both pictured above, as well as Trevor Cherrett of the Commission for Rural Communities, and Chris Wade of Action for Market Towns

The conference contemplated the threat to rural communities becoming little more than gated retirement communities unless Government policies were reinvented with specific reference to rural housing needs and more imaginative ways of delivering services to rural people. It was feared that many communities would wither and die unless villagers were encouraged to support jobs and appropriate new development, and the Government properly understanding the role that rural communities could play in a sustainable future. A key issue, which was hotly debated, concerns whether the threat of global warming requires a new pattern of development in rural areas that would seriously reduce reliance on the car. Is that possible without sacrificing what rural areas are all about?

Ecological Economics lecture series at Oxford

23/10/08

A special Ecological Economics lecture series is being organized at Oxford University. The lecture series is organized by Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University. The lecture series convener is Dr Stanislav Shmelev, who spent some time in the CCRI as a visiting researcher He can be contacted on stanislav.shmelev@ouce.ox.ac.uk The names of the speakers, the dates and the titles of the lectures can be found here: http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/events/ecol-economics08.php

PhD success for Richard Harper

23/10/08

CCRI postgraduate student Richard Harper has successfully defended his PhD thesis.

Richard's thesis investigated the relationship between policy making in countryside recreational access and citizenship in England. It focused on the actions of policy makers involved in the development of the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000, which were interpreted using van Gunsteren's neorepublican model of citizenship. Richard was supervised by Dr. Peter Gaskell (CCRI), Professor Nigel Curry (CCRI) and Dr. Nicky Williams (Business School, University of Gloucestershire).

CCRI win new project to evaluate Cross Compliance Programme

24/09/08

Defra has commissioned CCRI, ADAS and Central Science Laboratory (CSL), with ADAS as lead partner, to evaluate the cross-compliance programme.

Cross Compliance comprises a number of standards relating to environment, public health and animal health and welfare that farmers have to comply with in order to claim the Single Payment and other direct payments. The programme was introduced in 2005 and is currently under review. The project will firstly review and synthesise the secondary data and literature on Cross Compliance, secondly undertake a consultation exercise with farmer advisors and directly with farmers to fill evidence gaps and inform an analysis of farmer behaviour and thirdly to undertake a robust evaluation of effectiveness and value for money. The evidence and evaluation outputs will be synthesised to address the main evaluation question 'what is the value provided by the Cross Compliance programme' and inform recommendations for improving the scheme.

The CCRI input will be led by Jane Mills, with help from Dr Janet Dwyer, Dr Peter Gaskell and Ian Condliffe.

The benefits and the challenges in encouraging children and young people to be active in the outdoors

18/9/08

The Countryside Recreation Network (CRN) is presenting a landmark conference to explore the benefits and the challenges in encouraging children and young people to be active in the outdoors.

This conference will consider how adults can overcome some of their own anxieties about children using the outdoors and how young people can discover that you don’t need to be Ray Mears to experience the outdoors.

For full information, please download the programme/booking form or go to http://www.countrysiderecreation.org.uk/events/crn-events.asp

Chris Short has paper published in International Journal of the Commons

16/9/08

Christopher Short has had an article published in the International Journal of the Commons. The paper is entitled 'The traditional commons of England and Wales in the twenty-first century: meeting new and old challenges' and can be accessed online http://www.thecommonsjournal.org/index.php/ijc/article/view/47/41

Christopher ShortChris (pictured left) was one of the organizers of the recent 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons Conference held at the University of Gloucestershire and hosted by the CCRI and is also the convener of the National Seminar Series on Common Land and Town and Village Greens which plays a vital role in disseminating information on principal developments in common land legislation.

Chris, together with Brian Ilbery, Paul Courtney, Carol Kambites and Ros Boase, has also had a paper published in the Journal of Farm Management entitled 'Exploring and interactions between landbased industries and communities in rural England'. This paper is derived from a recent project carried out by the CCRI for the Commission for Rural Communities that employed ethnographic techniques to assess the various interactions between five English rural communities and the land-based industries that surround them.

Professor Brian Ilbery and Dr. Damian Maye invited to present papers in Australia

11/09/08

Professor Brian Ilbery and Dr. Damian Maye have been invited to attend the 2008 Conference of the Agri-Food Research Network which will be held from Wednesday 26th to Friday 28th November at the Darlington Centre at the University of Sydney.

Professor Ilbery will be giving a key address on Thursday 27th which is entitled 'Ownership, tenancy and property rights'. He and Dr. Maye are also presenting two papers on the Friday, drawn from the major interdisciplinary ESRC RELU project they are currently working on which aims to develop a critical, inter-disciplinary appraisal of the potential impacts of plant disease (food and non-food) on land use and the UK rural economy. The address will consider whether Australia and New Zealand can take any lessons from this research.

The Agri-Food Research Network is a forum for Australian and New Zealand social scientists researching the economic, cultural, social and environmental implications of agricultural and food systems. More information about the conference can be found at http://www.geosci.usyd.edu.au/news_events/afrn08/index.shtml

Rural Services 2020: the challenge of sustaining rural communities

02/09/08

The Countryside and Community Institute, in association with Rural Network Services, is organizing a one-day conference which will focus on the future for rural communities, and the services on which they rely.

The conference, which will take place on 24 October 2008, will seek to look forward 12 years, to the point when, if current projections and plans are fulfilled, 3 million new homes will have been built in England, new communities established and the government's commitment to improved and locally responsive public services has been delivered.

This conference is organised in the wake of the recently published review on rural economy and affordable housing [Living Working Countryside, The Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable Housing, July 2008) which identified key challenges which threaten the future sustainability of our rural communities, from market towns to the smallest hamlet.

More information on the conference can be found at http://www.ccri.ac.uk/Events/RuralServices2020.htm

Looking at settlements from the surrounding landscape

27/8/08

Comparatively little attention has been paid in urban and rural design to the external appearance of settlements. Professor Stephen Owen has had a paper accepted by the Journal of Urban Design for a paper entitled: 'The Town Observed: looking at settlements from the surrounding landscape' which seeks to ground the way we see towns from the surrounding landscape in a particular theoretical context – David Thomas’s neglected General Theory of planning design. The main lineaments of this theory are explained, focusing on the crucial distinctions Thomas makes between, respectively: ‘normal and technical usage’, ‘internal and external realities’, and ‘continual and contractual planning processes’. Two developments of the theory specifically relevant to the external appearance of settlements are explored, namely the influence of the lapse of time, and of the character and use of the surrounding landscape, on people’s experience of that external appearance. Finally, the paper indicates components of a method for applying these developments of Thomas’s theory to protecting and enhancing the identity of a settlement in the wider landscape. The publication date for the journal will be announced in due course.

Professor Gilg presents lecture to Royal Town Planning Institute's Conference

1/8/08

Professor Andrew Gilg gave a lecture entitled: 'Where now for rural planning? The next 60 years; to the South West Region branch of the Royal Town Planning Institute's conference to mark 60 years of Planning: '1948-2008-How far have we come?' in July 2008.

Global Commons under debate at University of Gloucestershire

28/7/08

Over 500 delegates from over 70 different countries attended the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons Conference, organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire on 14-18 July 2008. Sponsorship enabled 124 delegates from developing countries to attend the conference who would not otherwise have been able to.

Through five days of excellent participation and stimulating discussion, this major conference raised awareness of how mis-management is damaging our 'global commons' and contributing to ecological poverty, and sought to explore how these 'commons' should be managed at local, regional, national and global levels to promote a more sustainable world. The English village green and the management of common land in England also came under the spotlight.

Bakary Kante, Director of the Division of Environmental Conventions (DEC) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) who gave a keynote speech on the opening day of the conference said "The global commons are the backbone to sustainability because all ecosystems, including the management of water, is in crisis. We need conferences like this to tackle these issues in depth." He also said that 'the challenge for this conference is to bring the issue of the world's 'shared resources' or commons, to the centre of the debate.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury and current Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire Lord Carey commented that the conference highlighted the need for a change in lifestyle among the developed countries where mobility and life style are comfortable but not in tune with the worlds needs.

UK Director of Black Environment Network and CCRI board member Judy Lee Wong felt that academics and others at the conference could play a useful role in explaining uncertainty to bureaucrats, to foster a more flexible approach in dealing with uncertain and complex systems.

Around 420 papers were presented in 8 panel sessions across 3 days. Between 250-300 people attended one of the 11 field trips on the Thursday. Almost 250 delegates attended one of the 4 workshops on Monday 14th July.

A video showcase of the event, plus other information, can be found on the IASC Conference website http://iasc2008.glos.ac.uk/iasc08.html

Other comments on the conference:

"I would like to thank you for the great conference. It was a pleasure for me to meet all the wonderful people and discuss commons matters." Justyna Hofmokl, Poland

"On behalf of all of the RRI, we would like to thank you for your gracious hosting of our meetings at the University of Gloucestershire. Our meetings went off well and all of our participants greatly enjoyed the field trip to the Forest of Dean. We are very happy with the outcomes of the two policy events and the CIFOR-RRI research panels on Friday. There was excellent participation and rousing discussion at all events. (During the Contested Commons policy event on Tuesday we counted at least 80 participants; during the Clash of the Commons policy event on Wednesday we counted close to 200!) The conversations started in Cheltenham are reverberating across email channels as we all move to put into practice the ideas exchanged over the past two weeks." Megan Liddle Rights and Resources Institute, USA

"Let me congratulate you again on organizing a great IASC meeting this past week." Elinor Ostrom, USA

Article accepted for publication

27/7/08

Professor Nigel Curry has had an article accepted for publication in (2008) National Parks in Kitchen R and Thrift N (eds) International Encyclopaedia of Human Geography, Elsevier, Oxford.

CCRI signs new research student

24/7/08

The CCRI is pleased to welcome a new research student, Oliver Moss (pictured left). Oliver is a Research Fellow/Research Funding Development Manager at Northumbria University. Oliver's PhD will seek to explore within the context of climate change, the rise of morality as a master narrative and the impact this has on questions of responsibility (e.g. collective versus individual) and accountability. He is supervised by Dr. Matt Reed and Dr. Carol Kambites.

12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons

17/07/08

After many months of preparation, the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons (IASC) kicked off on Monday 14th July.

Bakary Kante, Director of the Division of Environmental Conventions of the United StatesOn the opening day of the conference, Bakary Kante, Director of the Division of Environmental Conventions (DEC) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (pictured left) spoke to a gathering of delegates in the Conference Marquee on 'The difficulties of managing global commons'. A vital perspective, the presentation illuminated several issues that large policy-making bodies such as the UN face in handing issues of global commons and shared resources. Several examples of international cooperation highlighted new perspectives on dealing with the commons, particularly in reference to new technologies, scientific advancements and recent international policies. Praising the IASC, Kante extended a hopeful perspective for delegates, suggesting that it is precisely the role of a conference such as that of the IASC to bridge the gaps between policy makers and academics in order to approach contemporary issues of communal resources together.

See the daily newsletters from the conference

Monday 14th July

Tuesday 15th July

Chips without Fish? Our global resources are under threat

Fish and chips are a great British institution. There's nothing more British than fish and chips eaten with salt and vinegar. But will this popular dish, once considered cheap fare for the working class, become a mere trip down memory lane? Only to be found in the finest gourmet restaurants? Chips without fish?

Stocks of cod in UK waters have fallen dramatically in recent years. Over exploitation of this common resource which was traditionally free for anyone with a boat and a net to use has brought fish stocks both around the UK and worldwide to crisis point. It is an example of failure to manage a resource that is shared, or held 'in common';.

The management of marine fisheries and other global 'commons' will be investigated, and alternative management approaches explored at a major conference organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire on 14-18 July 2008.

Conference organiser, Dr. John Powell, says "The global implications of poor resource management are increasingly recognised in terms of loss of biodiversity, destruction of valued resource systems, both natural and man-made, and global warming impacts. With regard to marine fisheries, if we want our children to enjoy the simple pleasure of fish and chips, then the resource must be managed in a more sustainable manner. The Conference will seek to address how common resources should be managed at local, regional, national and global levels to promote a more sustainable world."

Janet Dwyer presents paper in Paris

11/07/08

Dr. Janet Dwyer presented a paper on 'The effects of the 2003 CAP reforms on environmentally sustainable land management' at the OECD in Paris last week. The paper was well received by delegates from a wide range of member countries who sit on the joint working party on agriculture and environment.

Janet has been appointed as the external expert for the OECD review of Rural policy in Italy, which is taking place this year and will report in the late Autumn.

Paper accepted for publication in Land Use Policy

10/07/08

Dr. Julie Ingram has had a paper accepted for publication in Land Use Policy. The paper, entitled Revealing different understandings of soil held by scientists and farmers in the context of soil protection and management, was co-written with two COST 634 participants, P. Fry and A. Mathieu, drawing on similar research findings from England, Switzerland and France.

'Roots of Resilience' - World Resources Report 2008 to be launched at IASC Conference

07/07/08

The 2008 World Resources Report is to be officially launched at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons Conference, which is being organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute and held at the University of Gloucestershire on 14-18 July 2008.

Manish Bapna, Managing Director of the World Resources Institute (WRI) will be officially launching this latest report, entitled 'Roots of Resilience: Growing the Wealth of the Poor'.

The report finds that enterprises based on nature can be a path out of poverty for the world's rural poor, building their ability to withstand environmental, governance and economic changes,

It states that almost half the world's population (2.5 billion people) live on less than $2 per day and one billion live on less than $1 per day. The majority of these people live in rural areas and are heavily dependent on the natural resource base for their livelihoods. In many cases they have limited rights of access and use, and limited powers to manage their local resources.

The report argues that 'resilience' defined as 'the capacity to adapt and thrive in the face of challenge' is the key to tackling poverty and enabling the world's poor to withstand the shocks from climate change.

It further states that properly designed ecosystem-based enterprises that address the link between poverty and the environment can create economic, social and environmental resilience that will allow communities to better withstand the impacts of climate change, and make them more economically and socially stable. Increased resilience means that communities will be better able to face economic risk, better able to work together for mutual benefit, and the eco-systems on which they depend can become biologically more resilient as well as more productive and stable. . The report further argues that the early impacts of climate change add a new urgency to address the poverty of those largely dependent on natural resources.

The key to creating more resilient communities lies in improved governance. Improved governance requires national governments handing resource rights to local communities to enable local level management that will result in economic benefits flowing into communities. One of the major problems, sometimes caused by development projects themselves, has been the large-scale forestry, mining, fishing, and agricultural development that have depleted the natural resource base while the economic benefits have flowed to the urban centres or even outside the countries where the activity take place.

Dr. John PowellConference organiser, Dr. John Powell (pictured left) states: "This World Resources Report is extremely valuable, not just for the quality of the research and analysis, but also for its recommendations on approaches to address the link between poverty and the environment, and its recognition of the importance of effective institutions for governing commons. Over two billion people worldwide depend on common property for at least some significant part of their livelihoods. The global implications of poor resource management and conflict between individual interests and the common good are increasingly recognised in terms of poverty, loss of biodiversity, destruction of valued resource systems and global warming impacts. One of the key findings of the report is that majority of world's poor live in rural areas - thus new approaches to rural development are essential. The main theme of the IASC conference is to address how common resources should be managed at local, regional, national and global levels to promote a more sustainable world."

The report finds that although overall wealth of the world has increased, and new influential economic powers such as Brazil, India and China are emerging, poverty still exists on a massive scale. Overall poverty is expected to decline over the next 10 years but many countries will not achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty levels by 2015, and no regions are on track to meet other Millennium Development Goals for reducing child mortality, or improving nutrition and sanitation. Wealth continues to be concentrated in a small number of countries and within those countries in urban areas. Nearly three-quarters of the poorest families live in rural areas. These families are heavily dependent on the natural resource base for their livelihoods, but in many cases they have limited rights of access and use, and limited powers to manage their local resources.

A panel of experts, including Manish Bapna from World Resources Institute, Camilla Toulmin, Director of International Institute for Environment and Development and Zuo Ting of the China Agricultural University, will be discussing some of the key issues raised in the report.

Details of the conference can be obtained from Gillian Parker +44 (0)1242 714123 gparker@glos.ac.uk

Janet Dwyer chairs session at large European conference

07/07/08

Dr. Janet Dwyer chaired a session on the evaluation of agricultural and rural policies at a conference in Strasbourg organized by La Société Française de l’Évaluation and la DeGEval-Gesellschaft für Evaluation on 3-4 July 2008. The conference was held at the European Parliament's buildings and attended by over 700 delegates. See http://www.sfe.asso.fr/fr/strasbourg2008/sessiond.html for more information.

News Archive

Creating a political voice for 'commons'

03/07/08

Over two billion people worldwide depend on common property for at least some significant part of their livelihoods.

But the majority of land and aquatic resources that are managed as 'commons' are often declared to be state property. Governments are variable in their policies of recognition of the rights of commoners over these resources, which in turn creates significant uncertainty, and limits incentives for sustainable management.

One of the key issues to maintaining and protecting common property is to raise the political profile of commons and in particular recognition of the local, regional and global values of resources managed ‘in common’.

Thanks to sponsorship from the International Development Research Centre, Canada, a Policy Forum is set take place to provide the opportunity to hear a variety of experiences with advocating for the commons in different fora, from the local to the international, and to explore the opportunity for raising its political profile.

This forum will take place at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons Conference, which is being organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire, UK, on 14-18 July 2008.

Conference organiser, Dr. John Powell, says "The rising value of resources on the commons poses one of the greatest challenges to local users of commons. Commercial interests, particularly in developing countries, seek concessions to exploit forest resources, develop plantations, mining, or even ecotourism, or governments may sell off land for urban and other development. Poor and marginalized groups, including women, pastoralists, and minority ethnic groups are the most likely to lose out in this process. This forum will explore potential for developing resources to assist organisations in getting a 'voice of the commons' heard in the policy process at different levels of governance."

Full details of the conference can be found at http://iasc2008.glos.ac.uk/iasc08.html

Andrew Gilg to join TCPA Committee

Professor Andrrew Gilg has been invited to join the local committee for the Town and Country Planning Summer School (TCPA) Summer School to be held in Exeter in September 2009.

Paper available on-line

Professors Malcolm Moseley and Stephen Owen have had a paper published in Progress in Planning. The paper is entitled 'Future of Services in Rural England: Drivers of Change and a Scenario for 2015' and is now available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progress.2007.12.002

Papers accepted for publication

Professor Stephen Owen and Ingrid Sarlov-Herlin have had a paper accepted for publication by Landscape Research, subject to minor amendments. The paper is entitled "A sustainable development framework for a landscape of dispersed historic settlement".

Dr. Paul Courtney and Professor Malcolm Moseley have had a paper accepted for publication by Local Economy. This paper is entitled 'Determinants of local economic performance: experience from Rural England' and is expected to be published in November 2008.

CCRI Seminar Series

As part of the CCRI Seminar Series, Dr Laurens Klerkx of Wageningen University (pictured below) gave an interesting talk about how the privatisation of agricultural research and extension in Netherlands has led to the development of a market for services designed to support agricultural innovation.

He argued that, due to market and systemic failures, both supply side and demand side parties in this market have experienced constraints in effecting transactions and establishing the necessary relationships to engage in demand-driven innovation processes. He described how a number of intermediary organisations have emerged to assist agricultural entrepreneurs to articulate demand, forge linkages with those that can provide innovation support services, and manage innovation processes. He gave an overview of the different kinds of the so-called innovation intermediaries that have emerged in The Netherlands. He concluded by talking about the potential role of the state as a ‘market facilitator’ and funder of such innovation intermediaries.

For information on the CCRI Seminar Series, please contact Jill Harper

Janet Dwyer has paper accepted for publication in 'Economie Rurale'

12/06/08

Dr. Janet Dwyer (pictured left) has had a paper accepted for publication in the French journal 'Economie Rurale'. The paper was co-written with Professor Berkeley Hill, Imperial College, London, and Dylan Bradley, AgraCeas Consulting, and is on Monitoring and Evaluating RD programmes. It is expected that it will be published in both English and French later this year.


Common resources under threat

04/06/08

Climate change, extreme poverty, biodiversity loss and conflict are major global challenges requiring serious attention from today’s decision-makers.

Commercial interests and poor management of shared resources, also known as commons, are contributing to these problems.

Millions of people are without adequate drinking water. Deforestation is destroying natural habitats for many wildlife species. The burning of fossil fuels and other pollution is linked to climate change. Over-fishing has put many fish species at risk. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg and in these and many other cases local people and their communities are increasingly isolated and being ignored in decision-making in favour of other interests.

The management of these and other shared resources will be investigated, and alternative management approaches explored, at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons Conference, which is being held at the University of Gloucestershire on 14-18 July 2008.

Commons resource management experts from all over the world will be attending the conference, which is being organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute.

This major international conference will raise awareness of the damage caused to environmental goods such as the global atmosphere, the contribution to ecological poverty caused by the mis-management of shared resources such as marine fisheries, and the loss of native rights to traditional resources such as grazing lands for reindeer in the Arctic and medicinal plants in tropical forests. Such goods, shared by communities or groups of individuals, are also known as ‘commons’. The Conference will seek to address how commons should be managed at local, regional, national and global levels to promote a more sustainable world.

Conference organiser Christopher Short says, 'In many parts of the world shared resources remain under threat as a result of global economic forces, regional and national political developments, and inadequate legal recognition of common property rights. At the same time the global implications of poor resource management are increasingly recognised in terms of loss of biodiversity, destruction of valued resource systems, both natural and man-made, and global warming impacts. We intend the conference to focus on the exchange of ideas between developing and developed world, between practitioners and researchers, and between old and new conceptions of commons. Policy improvements will only result through discussion and testing of new theories, approaches and new knowledge.'

The term 'commons' includes all the things we own together and none of us owns individually. These include the air we breathe, water, forests, wildlife, energy, climate and landscapes, all of which are increasingly under threat.

Millions of people are without adequate drinking water. Deforestation is destroying natural habitats for many wildlife species. The burning of fossil fuels and other pollution is linked to climate change. Over-fishing has put many fish species at risk. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg and in these and many other cases local people and their communities are increasingly isolated and being ignored in decision-making in favour of other, often private, interests.

The conference will seek to explore these issues from a commons perspective, sharing local experiences which may hold lessons or provide insights into problems of dealing with global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

The conference will also look at the contribution of the ancient commons to the culture and society of England and Wales. It will include contributions from those directly concerned with the management of these resources, which are increasingly recognised for their environmental and public values.

Full details of the conference can be found at http://iasc2008.glos.ac.uk/iasc08.html

The Village Green is a threatened common resource The English village green is an example of a threatened common resource

Community facilities in Scotland

Over the summer of 2008 Malcolm Moseley will be playing a support role in a major study of Scotland's Village Halls and similar community facilities. The main contractor is SAC Commercial Ltd (an arm of the Scottish Agricultural College) and the work is being undertaken under contract to the Scottish Government's 'Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate'

Both north and south of the border there is much admiration for what village halls contribute to community life in rural and often remote locations - but also concern for the continuing viability of this valuable resource, as the context changes. The task is to establish a firm knowledge base of the operation, condition and use of Scottish halls - and Malcolm's role will be to ensure that any evidence and ideas arising from the English experience are made available to the Scottish researchers. In this he will be helped by ACRE which, with its member Rural Community Councils, provides a village halls advice and support service, linked to its own fact-finding in England.

CCRI Board Member caught in Chinese earthquake

21/05/08

Countryside and Community Research Institute Board Member Judy Ling Wong had a lucky escape from the massive earthquake that hit Sichuan Province in south-west China on 12th May 2008.

Ms Wong, UK Director of Black Environment Network (BEN), (pictured below) was visiting the Wolong Panda Reserve as part of a tourist group when the earthquake struck. She was about to have her photograph taken hugging a large panda when the trip turned to terror and boulders and rocks began to fly overhead as trees tumbled down.

Tragically five staff members of staff at Wolong National Reserve were killed. The pandas in the reserve are thought to be safe, but all the panda houses have been damaged and supplies of bamboo, apples, and veterinary medicine for the pandas, as well as food and tents for the staff, are urgently needed.

Since her return, Ms Wong had started to raise money for the victims of the earthquake, and the Wolong Panda Reserve.

Judy Ling Wong said "Giving money in general at this difficult time really helps, but giving to the Wolong Panda Reserve means driving the major tourist attraction of the area which will support the local people into the future as well as fund research and protection of this endangered animal so dear to us all. BEN will collect money and send funds to the Centre. We will be asking the British ambassador Sir William Ehrman to help us form a link to the Wolong Panda Reserve for the future.”

Donations can be made via Black Environment Network (www.ben-network.org.uk).

The Panda Reserve is situated in a remote area close to the epicentre of the quake which destroyed most of the roads and communications.It houses up to 150 pandas, and attracts explorers, tourists, animal-lovers as well as scientists, and receives more than 100, 000 visitors each year.

After making their escape from the Panda Reserve, Ms Wong and the other tourists in the group spent four days sleeping on the tourist bus, surviving on food and water given to them by local villagers. The group was eventually flown out of the Wolong nature reserve by helicopter to Chengdu, the provincial capital, from where they flew back to the UK.

Ms Wong was appointed Board Member to the CCRI in April 2008. She will be a keynote speaker at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons which is being organised by the CCRI, and will take place on 14 – 18 July 2008. For further information please contact Gill Parker gparker@glos.ac.uk

RELU shadowing grants awarded to CCRI

20/05/08

As part of the 'Growing risk' RELU project, awarded to Warwick HR (Principal investigator), Imperial College, Central Science Laboratory and the CCRI in the last (third) round of RELU projects, Professor Brian Ilbery and Dr. Damian Maye have been awarded two small Work Shadowing grants - each worth up to £2,000.

The first is with the National Farmers Union (NFU) and will involve a series of visits to observe the role they play for farmers in relation to plant diseases and risk communication; crucially, it will also involve observing their lobbying activities with ministerial agencies and food chain representatives.

The second is with the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), which hosted Defra's Food Chain Centre, to learn more about their work on value chain analysis, the food chain and marketing. Meetings with the IGD will also help to identify resources and useful contacts for later case study work on supply chains dedicated to wheat, potatoes and mushrooms, and to learn about different methods used to map and understand food chain dynamics.

Visits to both the NFU and IGD will take place between June and December this year.

For information: RELU's Work Shadowing scheme aims to introduce RELU (Rural Economy and Land Use) research staff to the action-contexts in which their research may be used. These contexts may be commercial organisations voluntary bodies or public agencies. Such a scheme can be helpful in informing RELU research projects, developing 'stakeholder' links, and sharpening projects' relevance and impact.

Exciting new PhD Project on the Changing Place of English Food Retail Markets

07/05/08

Julie Smith has just started work on an exciting new 3 year ESRC-funded (CASE) PhD studentship on 'The changing place of traditional food retailing: a geographical analysis of English retail markets'. Julie has recently completed a Master of Science in Food Policy at City University, London. Prior to that, Julie worked as a researcher on various sustainable development projects, including ‘Race to the Top’.

NABMA is the collaborating partner on the project, which started in January 2008. The project aims to examine the development of English retail markets as a traditional form of retailing, focusing especially on the nature of supply chain links with the local food economy, including market opportunities associated with local food hubs and wholesale markets. The studentship will provide one of the first detailed assessments of retail markets in England, especially in terms of their place in the wider food economy. The research will, therefore, work to build on earlier national surveys of retail markets conducted by Rhodes (2003) and Hallsworth et al. (2004) respectively, as well as other case study based surveys.

Julie will be supervised by Dr. Damian Maye and Professor Brian Ilbery. They are human geographers by training and have carried out a number of research projects on agricultural policy, rural restructuring and food chains, with an emphasis on short food supply chains and the relocalisation of food supply systems. Krys Zasada will be the main contact point at NABMA and will also help to provide support and advice to the project. The project team will report findings to NABMA members as the project develops. For further details about the project, contact Julie Smith

MSc Students study rural synergy in Sardinia

06/05/08

Students studying for a Master's degree in European Rural Development, delivered through the CCRI presented the results of their research at an international symposium in Sardinia last week. The students, from the UK, Italy, and Croatia spent a week in the area exploring the potential for establishing trans-national cooperation projects in the Monte Linas area of Sardinia. The work was carried out in conjunction with a Local Action Group set up under the EU LEADER programme, the GAL Monte Linas. The students interviewed 30 local stakeholders including local government officials, craftsmen, food processors, farmers and tourism organisations, to build up a picture of potential opportunities and barriers for cross-border cooperation within Europe. Results of the research were presented at a symposium on ‘The Role of Rural Areas in European Cooperation’ at which students were interviewed by journalists and a regional television station.

Key findings presented to regional, provincial, and local government authorities highlighted the importance of Sardinian identity, and branding of high quality local food products as a key area for cooperation. The students also noted the lack of trust between government bodies and between producers and service providers as major barriers to development in the Monte Linas area. Transnational cooperation projects were identified as vital for future development of the rural area, building on the synergies from combining local knowledge and expertise from Sardinia with other parts of Europe having similar or complementary skills. Developing economic and social connections across borders was shown to have potentially high value, even for a deprived rural area such as Monte Linas.

The President of the Province of Medio Campidano, Fulvio Tocco, supported the findings, and emphasised the importance of obtaining perceptions from external rural development experts. The President of the GAL Monte Linas, Antonio Marrocu, indicated the value of the research, which would be utilised in the coming months to assist in identifying potential cooperation opportunities.

New Contract for CCRI to evaluate Village Design Statements in Ireland

04/05/08

Professors Stephen Owen and Malcolm Moseley, working with Jeff Bishop of BDOR Ltd, have been awarded a contract by the Irish Heritage Council to evaluate the use of Village Design Statements (VDSs) in Ireland. The project will examine the ways in which VDSs have developed in that country, with particular emphasis, first, on the involvement of professionals working alongside local communities in preparing VDSs and, second, the adoption of VDSs within the statutory planning system. The work will be undertaken mainly during Summer 2008. The CCRI has previously undertaken work for the Countryside Agency evaluating the use of VDSs in England; Jeff Bishop was one of the 'inventors' of Village Design Statements.

Countryside and Community Research Institute has official inauguration

29/04/08

More than 100 rural experts and academics gathered on 22nd April at the Park Campus to celebrate the inauguration of the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), the creation of a unique collaboration between University of Gloucestershire, University of the West of England and Hartpury College.

(from left to right): Dr. Liz Smith, Professor Nigel Curry, Vice-Chancellor Patricia Broadfoot and Professor Martin Boddy

Among the guests were University of Gloucestershire's Vice-Chancellor Patricia Broadfoot, Professor Martin Boddy, Acting Executive Dean, Faculty of Environment & Technology, UWE and Dr. Liz Smith, Vice Principal Academic at Hartpury College, (pictured above).

The University of Gloucestershire Vice-Chancellor conferred an honorary doctorate on Stuart Burgess, Chair of the Government's Commission for Rural Communities, and the Government's advocate for rural people, businesses and communities.

University of Gloucestershire Vice-Chancellor Patricia Broadfoot presents an Honorary Doctorate to Stuart Burgess, Chair of the Commission for Rural Communities.

CCRI Director, Professor Nigel Curry, said "This exciting merger has brought together a wide range of expertise and created a dynamic focal point where we can achieve progressive research for a wide range of organisations, including Government departments. Also, the appointment of a prominent Board of Directors is a significant achievement for CCRI, and offers a vast experience in rural and social issues to help facilitate a centre of excellence in rural research."

The new CCRI Board was announced at the launch, and will be chaired by Sir Don Curry, Chair of the Sustainable Farming and Food Delivery Group. Sir Don chaired the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, which reported to the Government following the outbreak of foot and mouth in 2001. The other Board members are Professor Christopher Gaskell, Principal of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester and Chair of Defra's Science Advisory Council; Judy Ling Wong, UK Director of Black Environment Network; and Professor Colin Dennis, Director General of the Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association Group, based in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.

(from left to right): Professor Christopher Gaskell, Professor Nigel Curry, Sir Don Curry and Judy Ling Wong

At the launch, Professor Curry presented an inaugural lecture on behalf of the CCRI which explored the policies for planning in the countryside since the Second World War. To conclude his lecture he drew on examples of research undertaken by the CCRI in the fields of rural economy, rural community, agriculture and countryside planning, and how this research was influencing rural policy. A limited number of transcripts of Professor Curry's lecture are available from CCRI. Please contact Administrator Jill Harper if you would like a copy on 01242 714122, jharper@glos.ac.uk

CCRI hosts COST Action 634 Workshop

29/04/08

A workshop entitled 'Why don't farmers adopt more soil conservation measures?' was hosted by Countryside and Community Research Institute, 22-23 April 2008.

This was part of the larger COST Action 634 'On- and Off-site Environmental Impacts of Runoff and Erosion' Meeting. Participants representing several European countries and UK institutions attended. The programme comprised presentations on socio-economic aspects of soil conservation as well as catchment scale approaches to soil and water management. Dr Julie Ingram was the local organiser and will attend the final Cost 634 meeting in Portugal in July 2008 where she will present a synthesis of the socio-economic small group meetings' discussions.

Inauguration of CCRI takes place on 22nd April

17/04/08

The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) will be officially launched at the University of Gloucestershire's Park Campus on Tuesday 22nd April.

The Countryside and Community Research Institute is the creation of a unique partnership between the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England and Hartpury College.

CCRI Director, Professor Nigel Curry, said "This exciting merger has brought together a wide range of expertise and created a dynamic focal point where we can achieve progressive research for a wide range of organisations, including Government departments."

Professor Curry will be presenting a lecture to mark the inauguration of the institute. The lecture will explore the policies for planning in the countryside since the Second World War, and will conclude by illustrating how new principles are being developed and refined through specific research projects conducted in the Countryside and Community Research Institute.

The CCRI will also be announcing its new Board of Directors at the launch, which will include prominent people with vast experience in rural and social issues.

The launch will take place on 22nd April in the main lecture theatre, Park Campus, commencing at 16.00. Refreshments will be available. If you are interested in attending, please contact Jill Harper on 01242 714122. The event will include a presentation of an honorary doctorate to Stuart Burgess, Chair of the Commission for Rural Communities. Further information can be found here.

CCRI awarded ESRC PhD studentship

14/04/08

The CCRI has been awarded an ESRC PhD studentship, which will run alongside the RELU 'Growing risk' project. The title of the PhD studentship is: 'Impact of climate change on diseases of oilseed rape on the rural economy'.

The studentship will be based at the CCRI and will be co-supervised by Brian Ilbery and Damian Maye (both CCRI) and Peter Mills at Warwick. The idea is that the PhD will focus on oil seed rape, whilst the main project covers other food and non-food crops (potatoes, wheat, mushrooms and hardy nursery trees).

The studentship will be advertised, and is planned to start in or around October 2008.

Researchers link up to form new research cluster

14/04/08

Researchers from the University of the West of England, the University of Gloucestershire and the Countryside and Community Research Institute have joined forced to form a new research cluster Creative Industries for Sustainable Environments, Economies and Communities (CISEEC) which aims at exploiting the expertise and experience of a number of staff, associated professionals/artists, and post-graduate students, currently working in or researching on the creative industries in the South West.

Knowledge network, creation and dissemination are at the core of this new cluster. Members want to combine and strengthen their research activities and capacities in the creative industries and the environment, with a concentration on art and its capacity to focus on ecology and rural regeneration and encourage a critical dialogue about the role of the arts within rural regeneration and the cultural economy through networking, workshops and seminars.

The other objectives of the cluster include providing a supportive network for postgraduate study in a range of disciplines that have art, ecology and the creative industries at their core; developing a research consortium by pooling resources such as contacts, expertise and experience, which will provide a foundation of strength from which funding applications can be made and, last but not least, streamlining the group's knowledge-exchange structure to allow better synergy between research and practice, with a view to informing public policy and governance

For further information, please contact Dr Laurence Carmichael (UWE) laurence.carmichael@uwe.ac.uk; Dr Owain Jones (CCRI) ojones@glos.ac.uk ; or Professor Andrew Stonyer astonyer@glos.ac.uk or Carolyn Black (Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust Project Director) carolyndevos@gmail.com

CCRI hosting COST Action 634 meeting

20/03/08

The CCRI will be hosting a small group meeting within the COST Action 634 ‘On- and Off-site Environmental Impacts of Runoff and Erosion on 22-23 April 2008. The theme of the meeting is ‘Why don’t farmers adopt more soil conservation measures?’. For more information, please contact the organizer Dr. Julie Ingram.

Busy international schedule for Professor Ilbery

20/03/08

CCRI Professor of Rural Studies, Brian Ilbery, has embarked on a busy international schedule for March/April. In March, he acted as a PhD External Examiner for Central Queensland University, Australia, which involved the evaluation of an 80,000 word thesis concerning quality and beef commodity chains in central Queensland.

On 8th April, Brian will be in Paris presenting the findings from some of CCRI's research on local food systems in the UK at an international seminar. L’institut national de la recherché agronomique (INRA), which is one of France's leading agricultural research institutions, is holding the seminar entitled 'Short supply chains and their impact on sustainable regional development'.On 24/25 April, Brian will be moving on to Dublin. There, he will be acting as an international panel member to help evaluate 480 applications for research degree studentships to the International Assessment Board member, Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme, Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS).

Also during April, Brian will be acting as one of a small number of international referees to assess a research project by the Austrian Science Fund on 'Farming styles in Austria, 1930s - 1970s.

The Future Cost of Food

13/3/08

Recent price increases of wheat and oil, and other basic food commodities, all point towards a marked transformation that is occurring in the cost of food and related agricultural prices. The cost of our food-shopping basket is on the up.

With these concerns in mind, the Countryside and Community Research Institute is organizing a 'Big Rural Discussion on the Future Cost of Food' on behalf of SWAN - the South West Acre Network - and in association with Universities in the South West.

Two events are planned; the first of which will debate 'Production and Distribution' (24 April 2008), and the second 'Communities and Consumption' (1 May 2008). Each event will feature key note speeches from leading academics in the region.

Dr. Owain Jones, one of the organizers of the debate, says 'Rural policies and food chain dynamics have been shaped in recent years by depressed farm incomes and the related cheap cost of food. Now the picture is changing. The aim of the 'Big Rural Discussion' is to kick start a debate on the implications of the turn in farm incomes and food costs, particularly in the context of the South-West where agriculture plays such a key part in the rural economy. The prospect of increased food and agricultural prices offers both opportunities and major challenges to rural communities, not least in terms of social and environmental implications. This forum will provide the opportunity for a healthy debate and to plan a policy vision for the next few decades.”

The immense range of cheap food products offered by the supermarkets has contributed to the farming crisis. Many farmers have had to 'add value' to their products to justify higher prices, such as selling direct to the consumer at farmers' markets and farm shops where the farmer can make information available about where the food came from and how it was produced. Locally produced food is often perceived as 'more healthy' by the typical consumer. However, many farmers have been forced to diversify into other forms of income-generation, such as tourism and leisure related activities.

You can take part in the debate by logging on to the Big Rural Discussion forum at http://www.big-rural-debate.org/ where you can read the latest posts and add your own thoughts and comments. Further information on the events can also be found here

CCRI win GWR Studentships

28/02/08

The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) has been successful with two recent applications for PhD studentships under the Great Western Research (GWR) programme. They will both make a contribution to the sustainable development of rural areas.

The first will investigate the sustainability of salmon as a resource in the south west region of England. In this project, the CCRI is working with Exeter University (who is the lead University) and external funding is coming from Tamar Consulting. The second will examine the nature of the South West forest estate and its potential contribution to sustainable construction. This is in collaboration with the University of Bath and funding is from the Woodland Renaissance Partnership, a group of private foresters.

These two new GWR studentships complement a third, already held between the University of the West of England and the University of Gloucestershire, that is examining curatorial practices in forest art. This is supported financially by the Forestry Commission.

GWR is funded by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the aim is to promote collaborations between the highest quality research groups in the South West and regional businesses in order to attract international interest and recognition and to support the growth of the South West. The scheme also aims to build a strong cadre of research students and staff and to ensure the sustainability of internationally-excellent research in South-West England.

Project Report now on-line - Supporting the Commission for Rural Communities in its 'Participation Inquiry; Strengthening the Role of Local Councillors'

A report for which Professor Malcolm Moseley and Dr Carol Kambites provided research support is now available to download from the Commission for Rural Communities website.

The project, which was conducted in 2007, undertook a wide-ranging inquiry into local democracy in rural England. It explored the opportunities and challenges for rural councillors in bringing decision-making closer to their communities. ('Rural' councillors here comprise both parish and town councillors and also those district and county councillors who serve mainly rural wards.)

Professor Moseley and Dr. Kambites evaluated the vast evidence assembled by the Inquiry Team. In particular, they appraised the 169 written submissions which were forthcoming in response to a national 'call for evidence', and the transcripts of eleven hearings that had questioned dozens of people from the worlds of practice, policy and academia.

In addition they drew provisional conclusions from the totality of the evidence - which included those two analyses as well as survey work exploring the opinions of residents in sample areas of Dorset, Somerset and Northumberland, and an extensive literature review.

The picture that emerged left no room for complacency. As the Commission's subsequent report emphasised 'community engagement with local decision-making is currently very weak', 'communities feel almost total detachment from decision-making processes' and 'councillors at all levels expressed frustration about the constraints that impeded effective working'.

From our analyses at CCRI, it seemed that these constraints related mainly to the powers and resources of the various councils, to the structures and relationships linking the various authorities and agencies, to communication (and the lack of it) and to the quality and the qualities of the councillors themselves. These were all picked up by the Commission in framing its own conclusions and recommendations for action.

Owain Jones gives paper at Avonmouth Severn Beach Littoral Workshop

Dr. Owain Jones gave an invited paper at the Avonmouth Severn Beach Littoral Workshop, Severn Beach: Margins and Registers, which was held on 26/27 January 2008 as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Landscape and Environment Research Programme. His paper was entitled Living in a Material World: The Performativity of Emptiness.

Owain has also been invited to give the lead paper in the "rural" section of Peripatetic Practices: A Workshop on Walking, to be held Royal Holloway College, Bedford Square, London March 31, 2008

RuDi study kicks off in Frankfurt

In February 2008, Dr. Janet Dwyer, Dr. James Kirwan and Dr. Damian Maye will be traveling to Frankfurt for the first meeting of the European team on their Rural Development Impact (RuDI) study, funded under the EU Seventh Framework programme.

The CCRI is one of the major partners in the study and will be developing innovative approaches to understanding how European rural development policies are affecting the 27 Member States. The CCRI team is currently recruiting a research assistant to support the study, which will last until mid-2010.

Papers accepted for publication

Dr. Owain Jones has had an article accepted for publication in the International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (HUGY). The article is entitled Dwelling and relates to ideas of place, landscape, life, and beyond.

In addition, Professors Malcolm Moseley and Stephen Owen have had a 25,000-word paper accepted by the journal 'Progress in Planning'. Their joint paper, 'The Future of Rural Services - Drivers of Change and a Scenario for 2015' is based on work undertaken for Defra during 2004/5. The paper will be published in the Spring of 2008.

Malcolm Moseley and Stephen Owen have also been assisting West Oxfordshire and Cherwell Districts in the preparation of their Rural Strategies. This has involved writing briefing papers on the policy context and the nature of sustainability in a rural context.

Dr. Janet Dwyer has had an article accepted for publication in a special issue of EuroChoices on EU and US Rural Development Policies . Janet's article is entitled 'Human and Social Capital in Rural Development' EU and US Perspectives, and is co-authored with Jill Findeis. The special issue is scheduled for publication in late March 2008.

CCRI to host UK Agricultural Economics Society Conference

From 31 March to 2 April, CCRI is jointly hosting the Annual Conference of the UK Agricultural Economics Society in Cirencester, in partnership with the Royal Agricultural College. The conference is a long-established event which brings together a range of national and international applied economists and policy analysts to discuss all things rural and agricultural. This year's event will feature plenary sessions on international trade and the future for European support policies, as well as a full programme of contributed papers, a poster session and many opportunities for informal networking and discussion. For further details, visit the website www.aes.ac.uk

Professor Ilbery presents paper at launch of Blenheim Palace Conferences rural conference series

Professor Brian Ilbery presented a paper at a one-day conference, the first in a series by Blenheim Palace Conferences covering a range of rural business development issues.  The conference took place at the famous Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire on 30th January.

The conference, entitled 'Farming and Estate Diversification: securing the future', attracted a large audience. Brian's presentation was on 'The impacts of CAP reforms on the diversification activities of tenant farmers in England'.

This series of conferences is not aimed at academics and instead focuses on those involved in managing rural property from private farms to estates; those managing the landholdings of public and private institutions; farmers and smallholders who are looking to diversify; those working in rural businesses who want to explore opportunities and rural business advisors.

More details can be found at www.blenheimpalaceconferences.co.uk

CCRI facilitating workshops for research into socio-economic benefits of heritage in National Parks

Paul Courtney, Peter Gaskell, Jane Mills and Lizzi Cheese are facilitating a series of workshops in England and Wales to identify priorities for research into the socio-economic benefits of heritage in National Parks.

The workshops, which are taking place in January and February 2008, are part of a broader research project being undertaken for English Heritage and Cadw which aims to define the heritage resource in the context of National Parks; identify and examine the knowledge and research base relating to the socio-economic benefits of heritage within National Parks and Identify any gaps in the knowledge and research base.

Professor Dower helps Rural Development in Romania

Visiting Professor Michael Dower is advising the Ministry of Agriculture in Romania on the setting up of a National Rural Development Network. Professor Dower, an expert in European rural development and a former Director General of the Countryside Commission, will be helping to ensure that 8 billion euros, awarded to Romania by the EU to spend on rural development between 2007 and 2013, is spent efficiently. His advice will help ensure widespread understanding, among all communities and enterprises in rural Romania, of what rural development is and can achieve.

More specifically, Professor Dower is advising on how the interest and energy of the wide range of stakeholder bodies - farmers, forest owners and managers, local authorities, non-government organisations, chambers of commerce and many others - can be enlisted within the a proposed Rural Development Network. He is also advising on the shape of the network of Local Action Groups to be set up under the LEADER element of the national programme; and, separately, on how the programme can be used to promote the long-term well-being of semi-subsistence farmers, who number nearly one million with an average farm size of about 3 hectares. The network will energise the whole process of rural development in this big and varied country, which only joined the European Union in January 2007.

CCRI secures research contract to advise Commission for Rural Communities

The CCRI has secured a two month project worth just under £4,000 to advise the Commission for Rural Communities about the policy implications of the post-modern countryside.

It has long been recognised that rural areas are experiencing significant change and that this is influencing the connections that rural people have with the land. The term post-modern has been used over the past few years to describe this change and a change in wider society. The exact nature of the new type of society is the subject of much debate and it is this and the implications for the countryside that will be explored within the project.

The project is being lead by Chris Short together with Matt Reed and Owain Jones. The first stage is a literature review that will be prepared into a report. This report will be presented at a discussion seminar in March attended by staff of both CRC and the CCRI with a final set of recommendations on the implications and future directions for policy submitted by the end of March.

Preparations under way for IASC 2008

The CCRI is organising and hosting the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) between 14/19 July 2008.

The conference team is delighted that Lord Carey, the University of Gloucestershire's Chancellor, will be attending the conference and speaking at the Opening Ceremony.  In addition, it is pleased to announce that Professor Kenneth Olwig, the renowned Swedish cultural geographer of landscape, has agreed to give a key note paper.

To date 760 abstracts had been submitted by the deadline of January 14th. These were received from over 60 different countries from Argentina to Zambia and covering a wide range of subjects. Many concern the management of traditional commons resources such as forest and irrigation systems but others are looking at the property rights regime surrounding seeds and new networks of cooperation based on the Internet.

The conference team is currently discussing travel grants and other sponsorship opportunities with a number of national and international organisations. For more information, please see the conference website, which has recently been redesigned, and registration is now open http://www.iascp.org/iasc08/iasc08.html. Alternatively, contact the conference administrator, Gillian Parker.

CCRI awarded contract to review of environmental benefits supplied by Agri-Environment schemes'

The CCRI, along with colleagues from CSL, have just secured a contract to assess the environmenal benefits of agri-environment schemes. The work involves a very detailed literature review aimed at identifying the evidence of environment benefits arising from the schemes. Agri-environment schemes are approaching a crossroads that will determine their future and this project will form part of the UK's submission to the EU about their future direction.

The project is being managed by Natural England but is part of a number being initiated by the Land Use Policy Group which is made up of the environmental groups within the four devolved governments in the UK.

Professor Malcolm Moseley advises Commission for Rural Communities

Malcolm Moseley is working as an adviser to the Commission for Rural Communities in its study of 'Service Needs and the Adequacy of Delivery Responses Following Major Life Events in Rural Areas''. In this important piece of work, 'major life events' could include, for example, the unexpected death of a family member, or the onset of dementia.

Malcolm has also recently completed a three year membership with the Carnegie Commission for Rural Community Development, an independent commission which encourages community development in rural areas. The Commission published its final report in summer 2007 ('A Charter for Rural Communities') with a key proposal that local communities in the UK and Ireland should be encouraged and actively helped to adopt an asset-based approach to local development.

Recently completed research

 
Strengthening the role of local councillors' in rural England

Carol Kambites and Malcolm Moseley worked over the summer and autumn of 2007 to assist the Commission for Rural Communities in its Inquiry into how best to 'Strengthen the Role of Local Councillors' in rural England - i.e. both parish / town councillors and those district and county councillors representing rural wards. Our task was to distil the key findings emerging from the Commission's various surveys and calls for evidence, by appraising a mass of written and oral submissions and drafting some recommendations.

CCRI explore sustainability of dispersed settlement the High Weald

Stephen Owen and Ingrid Sarlov Herlin have completed a project on the sustainable development of dispersed settlement on the High Weald. The project, which was commissioned by the High Weald AONB in partnership with English Heritage, aimed to explore the sustainability of dispersed settlement in different parts of Europe and to note examples of good practice for consideration in the High Weald.

Specifically the project sought to: identify areas of dispersed settlement for which spatial planning / rural development policies have been adopted in different parts of Europe; identify examples of seemingly good practice in those policies for securing sustainable development in dispersed settlement; and indicate the kinds of criteria that might be used for assessing the sustainability of dispersed settlement in spatial planning / rural development policies for the High Weald AONB.

Amongst the key points revealed by the study, the following were relevant to current debates on sustainable development in rural areas.

  • Some of the highest densities of historic farmsteads and pre-17th century buildings are concentrated within landscapes defined by dispersed settlement.
  • Dispersal is a 'normal' feature of some valued historic settlement patterns and landscapes. Those landscapes have already proven their sustainability over centuries.
  • An understanding of character and the processes which have shaped the settled landscape to date should form an important component of an approach to achieving sustainable rural settlements.
  • Good design and sustainable solutions for rural settlements should recognise and grow out of the inherited patterns in the wider landscape, and in the wide range of farmstead and building types, materials and detail.

PhD success for Richard Harper

CCRI research student Richard Harper has successfully defended his PhD thesis, which investigates the relationship between policy making in countryside recreational access and citizenship in England. Its focus is on the actions of policy makers involved in the development of the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000, which were interpreted using van Gunsteren's neorepublican model of citizenship. Richard was supervised by Dr. Peter Gaskell (CCRI), Professor Nigel Curry (CCRI) and Dr. Nicky Williams (Business School, University of Gloucestershire).

2007

Janet Dwyer speaks at 5th Agra Europe Conference

CCRI Reader, Dr. Janet Dwyer, was the only UK academic on the programme for the 2007 Agra Europe conference on Rural Development, which was held in London in November. Janet presented some thoughts and early findings from her ongoing study for the European Commission. The study is reviewing Rural Development Instruments and making recommendations for how the policy 'toolkit' of measures should be changed, once the current programmes come to an end in 2013. It is due to report in May 2008, just before the Commission publishes its draft legislative text on the so-called 'CAP health check'.

Peter Gaskell provides training for sustainable use of historic farm buildings

In November 2007, Dr. Peter Gaskell worked with English Heritage and the Historic Environment Local Management Programme (HELM) to provide training for non-historic environment specialists in the sustainable use of historic farm buildings. The course, which was well received, was attended by land managers, farm advisors, estate managers and local government officers involved in managing change in the rural environment.

Peter has also been working with the National Trust to deliver workshops for National Trust staff which focus on understanding the character of historic farmsteads and promoting the sustainable management of farmsteads and their landscapes. In September 2007, he was elected to the Chair of the Historic Farm Buildings Group.

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