The University hosted the second meeting on rural economics and development which took place at the House of Lords.
The initiative, led by Lord Wade of Chorlton, brought together academics and peers with an interest in the subject of planning and rural governance to discuss with policy-makers some of the latest ideas arising in academia.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Howard Newby, introduced the session and spoke about how, with various government restructures, any of the routes for sharing ideas between academics and policy makers interested in rural development may have been lost.
Professor David Shaw, from the School of Environmental Sciences, gave a talk entitled ‘Big issues in rural planning: not least, is there a rural plan?’ destroying some of the popular myths about planning applications.
Professor Terry Marsden from the University of Cardiff spoke on food security and planning and Professor Chris Gaskell, Principal at the Royal Agricultural College tackled education and training for a new rural economy.
Presentations followed a debate, which continued late into the night, with more than 30 members of the House of Lords including Lord de Mauley, the Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.