Future Countryside 2025

INSIGHT: Our Chief Executive, Ed Ikin, shares his key takeaways from the event which celebrates the countryside as a vibrant, inclusive rural landscape that benefits everyone.

It was a privilege to attend the Future Countryside in a Paxton-esque marquee, embedded deep in Chatsworth’s glorious parkland.

Future Countryside is a select gathering, with the delegates owning or managing hundreds of thousands of British acres between them. But this forum felt genuinely committed to reaching across the divide and finding common ground between agriculture, conservation and development.

In a time of polarisation, the middle ground has lost its lustre but it’s vital for a countryside needing to assert its societal, environmental and economic role. 

The challenge was captured lyrically by a candid and reflective Michael Gove, Recalling his time as Defra Secretary of State, he observed that different rural interests often appeared to be divided and not working to a common goal. He encouraged us to work collectively ‘as a choir of different voices’, setting the scene for a day that was open, honest and constructive. 

A stage thoughtfully held by the varying voices of Tony Juniper, Fiona Reynolds, Sarah Mukherjee, Tracey Bleakley and Tom Bradshaw reflected the best spirit of Future Countryside, where farming, nature conservation and rural development were explored as partners, not rivals. 

Youth voice, in the form of the Peak District Youth Impact group, appeared at the end of the day with a panel discussion exploring, with eloquence and insight, gen Z attitudes to the countryside. It could have been more impactful to lead with this discussion, setting a ‘future’ then exploring how present and past could lead towards it. 

…and where does The Ernest Cook Trust fit into this discourse? As an educational trust with a profound belief in the power of Outdoor Learning, we know the extraordinary role the countryside can have in helping young people flourish. 

As a landowner, we have opportunities to realise multiple forms of value from our acres, giving spaces to learn, train and access, Our land also gives us income to support organisations delivering learning where need is greatest through our grants. 

So, as we consider the balance between food and nature, between habitat and housing, we’re keen to see people – and the benefits well-managed land can offer society – at the heart of every countryside debate.

Chief Executive, Ed Ikin, with Head of Learning Programmes Development, Sarah White at Future Countryside 2025

Future Countryside was created in 2023 by writer and policy adviser Julian Glover, who chaired the Landscapes Review for Defra in 2018, and Countryside Alliance chair and former Sussex MP Nick Herbert, CBE. They together chaired this year’s forum.