Future Countryside 2025
Tuesday 20 May, Chatsworth House

9.00: Arrival and coffee

9.30: Welcome - Nick Herbert, and Julian Glover, co-founders of Future Countryside

9.35: Welcome from William Burlington, Chatsworth House

9.45: Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, on the cultural and heritage role of the countryside

WHAT IS THE COUNTRYSIDE FOR - GREEN V GROWTH

10.05: Michael Gove in discussion with Julian Glover on the challenges facing the government about the countryside

10.30: Big room conversation

11.00: COFFEE BREAK

11.20: Provocations on land use and the challenges facing the countryside

Introduction and Chair – Alice Thomson, The Times

What works for the…

  • Access to the countryside - Yvonne Witter, Chair of Trustees at Peak District Mosaic

  • Housing and planning - Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive at CPRE

  • Rewilding, land use and land ownership - Professor Alastair Driver, Rewilding Specialist 

  • Nature - Jo Smith, CEO of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

  • Carbon offsetting/tree planting - Dr Anna Brown, Director of Forest Services, Forestry Commission 

12.00: Roundtable discussions on the provocations

12.30: Tom Bradshaw, NFU in conversation with Jake Fiennes – reflect on family farms, SFI and wider countryside issues

1.00-2.15: LUNCH

NATURE/HEALTH/WELL-BEING AND YOUNG PEOPLE

2.15: Dr Tony JuniperChair of Natural England, in conversation with Sarah MukherjeeCEO of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment

2.35: Kathy Willisprofessor of biodiversity at Oxford University, James Bethellformer health minister and Tracey BleakleyNorfolk and Waveney ICB, in conversation about how the natural environment can improve health outcomes 

3.00: COFFEE BREAK

3.15: Panel discussion chaired by Emily Nortonrural and farming policy champion with McDonald's young farmers & Peak District Youth Impact Collective on Gen Z’s view of the countryside

4.15: Closing plenary – Julian Glover and Nick Herbert

4.30: Wrap up and close