Cumbria’s Economic Summit
CLA North’s Graduate Rural Surveyor Emily Richardson recently attended Cumbria’s Economic Summit to help shape the county’s economic strategy as the sole representative of the agri-sector.Attended by over 250 delegates, the event featured speeches from a broad range of individuals and organisations such as David Beeby, the Chair of the Enterprising Cumbria Growth Board, Ben Lucas, the Founding Director of Metro Dynamics, Isobel Brown, the Programme Director for Enterprising Cumbria and Mark Cropper, the Chair of Kendal Futures.
Emily participated in a thematic workshop dealing with ‘nature and climate’, where she emphasized the importance of keeping environmental schemes simple and less cumbersome to ensure better farmer and landowner engagement.
On flooding, Emily highlighted the need for appropriate funding for farmers to allow excess water to be diverted onto their land following heavy rainfall. The funding will compensate the farmer for loss of food production and subsequent loss of income due to their action.
A final draft of Cumbria’s economic strategy is expected to be published in March.
