Leading the field
9 May 2008 |
How do we save the countryside?
How do we keep rural businesses alive when many are finding it hard to make ends meet?
How do we protect wildlife and the landscape?
THAT'S WHERE LEADERS IN THE FIELD LIKE JEREMY MCCABE COME IN. He uses cutting edge technology to keep his crop spraying business in the black. A computer in his tractor cab is guiding him to a profitable future. Now he's spreading the word.
Frances Clayton wants to prevent horse and pony owners ruining the picturesque pastures in the south east through overcrowding of animals and overgrazing.
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Travelling around the region she meets planners, councils, horse and land owners in a quest to keep the region's landscape looking good and still providing for a growing number of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.
They'll be at CHAMPIONS' DAY, an event devised by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). It is the only regional development agency to sponsor sector champions like Jeremy and Frances, who have land-based businesses. They're unique and so is the initiative, now in its third year.
More than 80% of the region is classified as rural (Office for National Statistics). Almost two million people live in small rural towns, villages and the countryside. Around 100,000 businesses operate in rural areas. Fewer than 20% of them are farms. Forestry, farming and fisheries boosted the local economy by an estimated £1.3billion in 2007.
More than a third of the south east is either of national or special scientific interest. Rural tourism and visitors to the countryside bring in around £4.5billion a year.
So come and meet the champions who are on a mission to save the countryside.
DATE: FRIDAY 9TH MAY 2008
TIME: 10.00-13.00
1ST LOCATION: Petworth House, Church Street, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0AE.
CHAMPIONS' PRESENTATIONS WITH PHOTO AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES.
TIME: 14.30-16.00
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2ND LOCATION: English Woodlands Timber Ltd, Cocking Saw Mill, Cocking, West Sussex. GU29 0HS.
TIMBER CHAMPION TOM COMPTON'S SAWMILL FOR DEMONSTRATION AND USE OF LOCALLY GROWN TIMBER. OFFICIAL OPENING BY SEEDA BOARD MEMBER, POUL CHRISTENSEN, CBE.
The south east has more wooded areas than anywhere else in Britain. Tom wants planners, politicians and developers to support local suppliers.
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| SEEDA's Rural Champions celebrating at Petworth House in West Sussex Front left Shaun Leavey, OBE; Front right Poul Christensen, CBE |
Ian Beecher Jones - Tractors in |
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