| Register |
 |
 |
Be the first to know Scotland's latest rural news. Register Now for our FREE Rural Update service. |
 Register NowRegister LaterExisting members login now
|
Information 
News
What will our rural areas look like in 20 years time?
By Bill Mitchell, South of Scotland Correspondent
This was the core question for a project, entitled Living with the Land, recently undertaken in the Annandale and Eskdale area of the rural South of Scotland.
Using a technique called "Preventive-Prospective", a group of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, including public agencies, farmers and other rural business people identified key issues affecting rural areas and suggested actions for policy makers to help the areas, and those who live and work in them, face up to the challenges of the future and make the most of the opportunities available.
Discussions focused on a range of topics, including land use and ownership, marketing of local products, the role of young people in rural areas, the maintenance of rural services, new business opportunities and the sustainability of rural communities. Three potential future scenarios were identified:
- The first, 'do-nothing' scenario, is where a few large businesses dominate the economy of rural areas and where there is homogenity between areas.
- The second scenario focused on the potential for rural areas to attract new people undertaking a broader range of economic activities than is currently the case.
- The third scenario stressed the future environmental role of rural areas in which tourism, recreation and the development of products based on this 'green' image are important.
The project forms part of the trans-national AGATE project. AGATE stands for Agriculture Agglomeration Atlantique et Territoires Europeens and is part-funded by the European Union under its Interreg 3B initiative to support collaborative working between the regions of Europe. The partners for AGATE, all from the Atlantic Seaboard of Europe, include regions in France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Scottish member of the group is Dumfries & Galloway Council.
A project report has recently been published by Annandale and Eskdale Rural Partnership and Langholm Initiative.
Further details on the project can be obtained from:,/p>
- Mhairi Telford-Jammeh, Community Planning Co-ordinator, Dumfries & Galloway Council.
- Judith Johnson, Project Officer, Langholm Initiative.
- Source
- Rural Gateway Correspondent
- Date
- 19-Sep-2005
- Categories
- COMMUNITIES, COUNTRYSIDE, South Scotland, News - General
Nothing will be done
19-Sep-2005 @ 15:09PM
Michael Johnston
A good report well researched and written a shame nothing will be done about it.