A better future for the uplands — a planning critique

The Countryside Commission's report A Better Future for the Uplands puts forward a new strategy for public intervention in the uplands of England and Wales. The aim of the report is to integrate rural policies and to promote higher environmental priorities in rural areas. This paper considers the degree to which the report is successful in planning to achieve these ends. The paper is specifically concerned with the planning methodology on which the report is based. The paper argues for an approach to rural planning which permits the consideration of more radical solutions to rural problems, along with the application of a more systematic planning methodology, in order to assist in the choice of an appropriate direction for planned change.