Friday 2nd February
Lyndhurst Community Centre, SO43 7NY
Doors open 7.00pm for talk 7.30pm
Merrick Denton-Thompson will present visions for the future of farming and the countryside in Britain.
The decision to leave the European Union has created the first opportunity for 50 years for the United Kingdom to work with the farming community in taking back control of the countryside. The unintended consequences of some agricultural activities have caused untold damage to our soils, to our biodiversity, to the quality of our air and water. At the same time we have often treated the farming community as potential fraudsters and the public have little understanding of what is achieved by the public investment into farming. A new vision for our countryside is being developed by the Government through its new 25 Year Environment Plan.
Followed by Questions and Discussion with Panel, including:
Oliver Cook
Practising Commoner; Chairman of New Forest Young Commoners Land Agent at Strutt & Parker |
Lord Willie Manners
Official Verderer Director of Avon Tyrrell Farms Ltd |
Dr Keith Howe
Council member of Friends of the New Forest Agricultural economist Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Rural Policy Research, Exeter University |
How might these changes impact on farming,
including commoning, in the New Forest?
Come along and join in the debate
Tickets: £5 ALL WELCOME
Early booking recommended - limited availability
Merrick Denton-Thompson is President, Trustee and Fellow of the Landscape Institute. He left local government as the Assistant Director of the Environment at Hampshire County Council where he was responsible for environmental policies in strategic planning, rural affairs and the countryside service. He was appointed to the Board of Natural England by the Secretary of State to assist in the development of the new government agency in 2006 - 2009. He directed the Rural Pathfinder for the South East of England in 2002, was a member of the Cross-Compliance Board for the Single Farm Payment and a member of the Agri-Environment Review Group that set up the Environmental and Countryside Stewardship Scheme. He is the founding Trustee of the Learning Through Landscapes Trust; and is a member of the South Downs National Park Design Panel and a Friend of the New Forest.