ABSTRACT
In the second half of the twentieth century countryside planning has become one of the most vibrant and lively issues in current affairs, and it looks set to become one of the key tasks facing those who would try to shape the destiny of the new twenty-first century. For example, the debate over the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prompted more letters to The Times newspaper than it has received on any other similar occasion in its history; more people are members of conservation groups like the National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds than watch sport at the weekend; and programmes on wildlife and countryside access command prime time on TV. The Government published a major ‘Rural White Paper’ in 1995 which reported a Countryside Commission survey that found that 93 per cent of people considered that the countryside is valuable, and 91 per cent believed that society has a moral duty to protect the countryside for future generations (Cm 3016, 1995). What is it about the countryside and its evolution that causes such passion? There are two basic answers.
