Section 3: Results of Consultations with Environmental, Economic and Social Partners
- The Regional Partnership (RP) was established, under the Joint Chair of the MAFF Regional Director for the South West and a representative of Government Office for the South West, on 22 September 1999. The following organisations were invited to attend:
- Countryside Agency
- English Heritage
- English Nature
- Environment Agency
- Forestry Commission
- Government Office for the South West
- South West Local Government Association
- South West of England Regional Development Agency
- Sustainable Development Round Table for the South West
- All of the invited members attended RP meetings on a regular basis. RP members helped develop the regional strategy for the Rural Development Regulation (RDR) as detailed in Chapter 2 and provided information, analysis and assistance in compiling Chapter 1. Meetings of the RP were held on the following dates:
- 22 September 1999
- 19 October 1999
- 3 November (Consultative Forum) 1999
- 18 November 1999
- 1 December 1999
- 9 December 1999
- Particular issues which have arisen and been discussed during the process have been:
- Maintaining Regional Distinctiveness
- Integrated delivery of the RDR
- Necessity of compatibility with Regional Strategies, particularly that of the SW RDA and the Regional Partnership
- Availability of measures to wider rural community reflecting the equality of opportunities
- Importance of Agri-environment measures to the region
- Flexibility of the plan to access new funding streams in future
- A wider consultation conference was held on 3 November 1999 at the Forte Crest Hotel, Taunton. Delegates invited are listed below. Those who attended are marked with an asterisk.
- Farming Organisations
- Country Landowners Association*
- Devon Smallholders Association*
- Family Farming Association*
- Federation of Family Farms
- National Farmers' Union*
- Small Family Farmers Alliance
- Small Farms Association
- Tenant Farmers' Association*
- Women's Farming Union*
- Women's Food & Farming*.
- Forestry Organisations
- Forestry Contracting Association*
- Institute of Chartered Foresters*
- National Small Woods Association*
- Timber Growers Association*
- Environmental Groups
- Avon Wildlife Trust
- Devon Wildlife Trust*
- Dorset Wildlife Trust*
- Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group*
- Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust*
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds*
- Somerset Wildlife Trust
- West Devon Environmental Network
- Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
- Other public Interest Groups
- Committee for Rural Dorset
- Community Action Bristol
- Community Council for Somerset
- Community Council of Devon
- Community First
- Council for the Protection for Rural England*
- Dorset Community Action*
- Federation of Rural Community Councils.
- Federation of Women's Institutes
- Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs*
- Gloucestershire Rural Community Council*
- National Trust*
- Ramblers Assoation*
- Townswomen's Guilds*
- Training Organisations and Colleges
- Bicton College of Agriculture
- Cannington College
- Cheltenham and Gloucester College*
- Cornwall and Devon Careers
- Devon & Cornwall Training and Enterprise Council*
- Dorset Training and Enterprise Council
- Duchy College*
- Exeter University
- Further Education Funding Council
- Gloucestershire TEC
- Hartpury College
- Kingston Maurwood College*
- Lackham College of Agriculture
- LANTRA*
- Royal Agricultural College
- Seale Hayne Faculty of Agriculture, University of Plymouth*
- Somerset Careers
- Somerset Training and Enterprise Council
- Wiltshire and Swindon Training and Enterprise Council
- Tourist Boards
- Southern Tourist Board
- Westcountry Tourist Board.
- Government Departments/Agencies
- Countryside Agency*
- Dartmoor National Park Authority*
- Employment Service
- English Heritage
- English Nature*
- Environment Agency*
- Exmoor National Park Authority*
- Forestry Commission*
- South West of England Regional Development Agency*
- Local Government
- Bath & North East Somerset Council*
- Bournemouth Borough Council
- Bristol City Council
- Cotswold District Council*
- Devon County Council*
- Dorset County Council*
- Forest of Dean District Council
- Gloucestershire County Council*
- Gloucestershire Unitary Authority
- Mendip District Council
- North Dorset District Council
- North Somerset Council
- North Wiltshire District Council*
- Plymouth City Council
- Poole Borough Council
- Salisbury District Council
- Somerset County Council
- South Gloucestershire Council*
- South Hams District Council
- South West Regional Chamber*
- South West Regional Planning Conference*
- Swindon Borough Council
- Torbay District Council
- West Dorset District Council
- West Wiltshire District Council*
- Wiltshire County Council*
- Other Industry Bodies/interested parties
- Business Links*
- Carkeek Ltd
- ESF Regional Support Office
- Exmoor LEADER*
- North Tamar Business Network*
- P. Lethbridge Esq.*
- PROSPER
- Soil Association*
- South Devon and Dartmoor LEADER
- South West Equality Network
- South West Forest*
- Taste of the West
- Torridge LEADER
- Transport and General Workers Union
- At the conference all the delegates were given the background to the RDR process. The delegates were then separated into three syndicate groups; environment, social and economic. Within these groups delegates were asked to discuss the Regional Aspiration, Goals, Objectives and SWOT Analysis. Specific activities under the general activities headings were also developed at the consultative forum and augmented by subsequent correspondance from regional consultees. The feedback from these groups was recorded by the syndicate leaders who fed comments back to the drafting team and the RP on 18 November. Drafting Team and RP members considered these comments and, wherever practicable, made amendments to Regional Goals and Objectives.
- Delegates at the conference were given copies of the latest draft of Section 1 and subsequently a number submitted written comments about its content and often gave suggested amendments. Written responses were received from the following:
- Mr Chris Bailward (Somerset Country Landowner's Association, Communities First in Rural Somerset, Forum for Agriculture and Rural Economy & Somerset Training and Enterprise Council)
- Mr Bill Blight
- Council for the Protection of Rural England
- Countryside Agency
- English Nature
- Environment Agency
- Exmoor National Park
- Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group
- Forestry Commission
- Holtom and Thomas, Chartered Surveyors
- Institute of Chartered Foresters
- National Farmers Union
- Mr John Newman
- Royal Agricultural College
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
- Somerset Careers
- South West England Regional Develoment Agency
- Miss Rachel Thomas CBE
- Wildlife Trusts
- Where comments were consistent with the overall direction established through the Regional Partnership alterations were made to the Chapter to take account of the points raised.
Page last modified:
17 August, 2005
Page published: 1 October, 2000