1 April 2009

Uplands inquiry deadline approaches

The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) has issued a reminder that Thursday 30 April is the deadline for individuals and organisations to submit comments to its official inquiry into how to secure a prosperous and sustainable future for England’s uplands, including those in Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset.

The national inquiry is taking place to raise awareness of the harsh realities of upland life and to highlight what they and their communities will need if they are to carry on serving the rest of the country as food producers; landscape, wildlife and heritage protectors; a tourism and recreational resource; and as stewards of biodiversity, water and soil.

Major special interest bodies from the South West will get their chance to make formal submissions during a two-day hearing in Devon in April, but the views, experiences, concerns and suggestions of people who live, work or spend leisure time in places like the Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor, and Exmoor, or rely on them for business, are also being sought.

The easiest way to contribute is to complete the online questionnaire on the CRC’s website: www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/events/uplandcommunitiescallforevidence (external link, opens new window).

but written comments are also welcome, addressed to CRC Uplands Inquiry, John Dower House, Crescent Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3RA.

Once consultations and research are complete, the CRC will produce a report to the Prime Minister this Autumn, recommending how to give the uplands of the South West, and elsewhere, a more promising future.

Ends

For Further Information

Pam Beddard,

CRC Publicity – South West Region

(t) 0117 987 0442/ 07767 621207

(e) pam.beddard@btinternet.com

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