8 June, 2001

HEREWITH a solemn promise: after today, I shall not mention the general election again - not until the next one, that is. I'm bored with it and I am sure readers are bored with it too.

But with the dust yet to settle - as I write this, many rural constituencies have not declared their results - various countryside organisations are already queuing up to press their cases.

The farming lobby will, of course, be demanding more compensation for foot and mouth victims and an enquiry into the whole debacle of the handling of the crisis.

They might get some cash - and some for non-farming rural business too - but if past experience like the massive BSE enquiry is anything to go by, very few names will be named.

The national parks will want support too - the Lake District is already asking for £330,000 to help re-stock the fells and create training schemes for country crafts. They, too, will get some help - but not nearly enough as inner city problems once more end in racial violence and demand huge extra resources.

The Country Landowners' Association is already asking for talks with Government over the future developments in farming and land management and these will include the growing of new types of crops and long-term land management schemes like forestry.

Don't bet your hat on this: long term planning has never been much of a priority for any Government in recent years for they rarely see beyond the next election - and it takes a minimum of 30 years for most forestry schemes to start paying their way.

Some campaigns seem to be mutually contradictory: the Council for the Protection of Rural England is fighting for traffic restrictions on country lanes, with speed limits as low as 20 mph, yet the long suffering residents of Dales villages like Gargrave, Hellifield and Long Preston want by-passes to free them from noise and pollution on the busy A65 holiday route. Sorry, but I can't offer much optimism here either. Although cash-strapped North Yorkshire County Council has re-opened these particular cases, such by-passes have been promised for at least 20 years and without Government funding, it could be another 20 - or more - before they come into being.

The CPRE is also, quite rightly, demanding building restrictions on "green field" sites. Fortunately for us in the Dales, this is mainly a London/South East problem although Bradford City Council seems determined to push more housing up the Aire Valley.

So wait for more clashes between Bradford and Craven District Council, which is against large scale green field building. Will be interesting, this, to see who wins Government backing.

The row over fox hunting will drag of, of course, as it has done for decades. My betting is that it will survive in some way or other for the more militant "antis" have made a serious mistake: they are already talking about bans on shooting and angling and there are more than three million regular fishermen - an awful lot of votes.

The row over Right to Roam legislation will also drag on, although many people think the battle is over.

But there are still many legal loopholes to be closed like, for instance, access to "common" land. Much of this land is not common at all, since rights to it are usually in the hands of local residents who can use it for grazing. And grass is a crop so can it be trampled by everyone?

There are many, many more complex issues at stake in the countryside and I shall discuss some of them in much more detail in future.

One thing is for sure: country folk are no longer slumbering in their rural retreats whilst urbanites pass controversial laws un-opposed. Instead, they are angry, getting organised, and are demanding that their voices be heard. Let's hope that, this time, someone listens!