The impacts of changes in farm structures on rural communities and environmental management in the Cumbria uplands in the UK and potential implications for the English Rural Development Plan

TL;DRAbstract

This paper is based on a qualitative investigation of social capital within farming communities in Cumbria (North-West England), how the maintenance of cooperative activities aids the provision of public goods, and the means by which policy can best ensure effective and socially just public goods outcomes. Essentially, the study revealed that despite the Cumbria region, and the Lakes District in particular, receiving maximum support under existing agri-environment schemes, there remains a serious problem with the gradual attrition of farmers from the land. The main driver for this is not predominantly agricultural, but rather is associated with exceptionally high housing prices creating a process of farm divisions as farms are split into housing, buildings and land for sale in separate lots. Loss of farmers from grazing puts pressure on those remaining as gathering and other cooperative tasks are made more difficult and hastens the potential arrival of ‘ranching’ systems. In addition t

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