THE Countryside Alliance has long been calling for a new integrated government department to include express responsibility for rural affairs and to encompass all aspects of rural life.

That such a department is to be set up and headed at Cabinet level by a politician of the seniority of Margaret Beckett should be an encouraging sign of Government intentions towards the countryside.

The real work begins now - and must begin urgently. We are nearly out of time if we are to save the best of our countryside. The key is to ensure the greatest number of sustainable rural livelihoods from the productive use of the land itself.

With this presumption at the centre of rural policy, the rest, including the safeguarding of the rural environment, will slot into place more easily - so long, of course, as Government also ensures the affordable homes, amenities, transport and services which alone will enable local rural communities to remain viable.

The options for sustainable use of the land go far beyond food production into areas such as plant products, biomass energy, floodplain management schemes and other environmental "products".

It has been claimed that any real progress could be hampered by what are often assumed to be the all-but irreconcilable claims of the countryside's legitimate stakeholders.

But Mrs Beckett will find a receptiveness to the need for change and a surprising degree of consensus already among those actually responsible for the use, conservation and shaping of our landscape.

RICHARD BURGE,

Chief Executive,

Countryside Alliance.