Coverage in the Country Life article from Julie Harding includes an overview of Simon Jenkins' keynote on defending the countryside from inappropriate development, a dive into the widespread fly-tipping issues that were the focus of Kirstie Allsopp's afternoon keynote discussion (and our joint report with the National Rural Crime Network, Breaking the Cycle: Tackling Fly-Tipping and Waste Crime - A Roadmap for Reform) and soundbites from speakers throughout the day's conference, including Craig Bennett, Rupert Soames, Minette Batters and Matt Ridley.
"There is such a thing as over-regulation. It does happen, and it’s not harmless. It does stifle innovation and it has perverse outcomes that are bad for Nature.
"Is there a better way? Yes. It’s called outcomes-based regulation. You specify the end, not the means [then you afford] a degree of trust to those who are doing the right thing and a degree of suspicion to those who are [not]" - Matt Ridley, Future Countryside 2026
Read the full article here and read more from Country Life here.
Photo credit: Sarah Caldecott