ABSTRACT
The discussion in the first five chapters, together with the findings of the case study of the Lake District, confirms that a conflict of public policy objectives exists (to a greater or lesser degree in different areas) between the release of land for housebuilding in rural areas and the protection of land from development in the interests of landscape and wildlife conservation and farmland protection. While in some areas policies may have been over-protective, nevertheless government must mediate between these competing claims, or seek to find means of meeting housing needs without detracting from the landscape. At the same time, and related to this, it has been clearly demonstrated that certain social groups are particularly disadvantaged in the competition for housing in rural areas, with young people and lower-income groups having especially limited housing opportunities. To a large extent this stems from a shortage of houses to rent.
