The Countryside Agency was a statutory body set up in England in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The agency was dissolved in 2006 and its functions dispersed among other bodies.

Formation

The agency was formed by merging the Countryside Commission and the Rural Development Commission. Its powers were inherited from those bodies. The agency was based in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

with smaller offices in London and the regions. Total staff numbers were around 600.

Role

The Agency was a government-funded advisory and promotional body; it owned no land and managed no facilities. Its funding came from the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

(Defra) as an annual budget of around £100 million. The Countryside Agency worked with other bodies, such as local authorities, landowners and other public agencies, to provide grants and advice to conserve the natural beauty of the landscape, promote rural economies and make the countryside more accessible to the public. The Countryside Agency had special responsibility for designating

national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, defining heritage coasts, and establishing

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

s for walkers and riders. In 2003, it initiated the designation of England's newest national park, the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

. In 2004, the Agency partnered with the

Countryside Council for Wales The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; ) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access in Wales. It merged with Forestry Commission Wales, and Environment Agency Wales to form ...

to introduce The Countryside Code, an updated version of The Country Code.

Millennium Greens

The Agency inherited a project to create Millennium Greens, and 245 out of the 250 planned were created by the end of the project, just after 2000. Minimal government responsibility for these greens was then passed to

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

on its creation.

Closure

Following a review by Christopher Haskins of several Government organisations involved in rural policy and delivery, the

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c 16), also referred to as the NERC Act (2006), is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In a reorganisation of public bodies involved in rural policy and delivery, the measures d ...

dissolved the agency. Those parts of the Countryside Agency charged with environmental activity were merged with

English Nature English Nature was the Executive agency, United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation (ethic), conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body ...

and parts of the Rural Development Service to form

. The socio-economic functions of the Rural Development Commission had already transferred to the Regional Development Agencies in 1999 (they were in their turn replaced by

local enterprise partnership In England, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) were voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses, set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities and lead ec ...

s in 2012). The remaining parts of the Countryside Agency, largely research and policy functions, became the

Commission for Rural Communities The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) was established as a division of England's Countryside Agency on 1 April 2005, and became a non-departmental public body on 1 October 2006, following the enactment of the Natural Environment and Rural Com ...

which was abolished in 2013.

References

{{Authority control Interested parties in planning in England Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1999 Organizations disestablished in 2006 English coast and countryside 1999 establishments in England Rural society in the United Kingdom Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom

Formation

Role

Millennium Greens

Closure

See also

References