IN HIS first major speech about countryside issues in England, Conservative party leader David Cameron yesterday called for rural decision making to taken out of the hands of central government and handed back to the local communities involved.

it was refreshing to hear his pledge to put people and communities first

Shaun Spiers - CPRE

They should be given the responsibility for making tough decisions to ensure that local services like post offices, public transport and health care are protected, he demanded.

This was not just a matter of policy but “it’s about attitude – a philosophy of government if you like,” he added.

Cameron was speaking at a London conference organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which is organising a series of meetings by various experts to draw up a picture of what the countryside should be like in the year 2026, when the CPRE will be 100 years old.

A year ago, whilst he was still Secretary of State for the Environment, Labour minister David Miliband presented his future vision for the countryside to a similar conference.

After David Cameron’s speech yesterday, Shaun Spiers, CPRE chief executive, commented: “At the start of our national debate on the future of the countryside we heard David Miliband, then Environment Secretary, outline his vision for land use.

“Listening to David Cameron give his first major speech about the countryside, it was refreshing to hear his pledge to put people and communities first and that we should trust local communities to shape decisions affecting them.

“The Conservative party will soon be publishing a Green Paper on housing and planning issues, and we will be very keen to see that it reflects the positive future for our rural communities, our green spaces, farming and food production that David Cameron has outlined today.

“But this isn’t a vision that should be left only to politicians. It should be debated by everyone. Town and country need each other to prosper and we believe we can all take action to ensure a beautiful and working countryside that we are proud to pass on to future generations.”