Rural parliament comes to town

Forum provides strong voice for rural dwellers and workers

Hundreds of people will descend upon Brechin this week to discuss the most important issues for the countryside at the Scottish Rural Parliament.

Run by apolitical and not-for-profit organisation Scottish Rural Action, the parliament is designed to provide a powerful voice for the people living and working in rural Scotland while remaining wholly independent of Government.

“The Scottish Rural Parliament presents a genuine opportunity for communities to make real and positive changes where they live,” said Scottish Rural Action chairwoman Amanda Burgauer.

“It empowers and connects Scotland’s rural communities and provides them with a stronger and more coherent voice.

“It is a ‘bottom-up’ process of involvement and debate and it has been developed by and for the people who live and work in the countryside.”

The parliament begins at 8.30am on Thursday, providing delegates with a proactive opportunity to air their views about what really matters, to take part in workshops, visit a number of local business and community projects and to really get a feel of rural life across the Angus countryside – all with the common aim of influencing future framework and rural policies.

The free event takes place at the Brechin Community Campus.

This year organisers are hopeful they will see an increased number of farmers at the rural parliament and said they would welcome more input from the local agricultural community.

Gill Lawrie, who farms 1,000 acres of prime Angus land with her husband, Willie, at Newton of Arbirlot, has been involved in the event as a member of the Brechin Liaison Group, set up when the town was announced as host for the 2016 convention.

“Land managers of all descriptions are the backbone of all rural communities,” Gill said.

“This, I know, is rather stating the obvious but it has to be said, over and over again, because it is easily forgotten.

“Farming and estate management, forestry and fishing are the rural industries and without them and their employees, the schools, churches, village shops, and so forth, would not have a core population to service.”

She said the rural parliament should be seen as a sounding board for all rural dwellers.

“It has been set up to provide a platform for those people to discuss problems, issues and to share their solutions and successes, not just with each other, but with government at all levels (local authority, national and European) to create a more informed society about life in rural areas.

“National governments in particular,” she added, “tend to focus on urban issues, simply because the bulk of the population are centred on these areas and often think that they can ‘rural-ify’ legislation and solutions to suit rural areas when in fact, issues in rural areas are often completely different and require a vision unique to that area.”

Farmers, therefore, Gill added, need to be present in Brechin.

“They know and understand firsthand what life is like in all rural areas, whether remote Highlands and islands or equally distinctive lowland areas,” she said.

“The rural parliament needs the farming community’s input so that all rural views are represented.

“It will be a powerful voice that will help to colour central government’s policies for years to come.”

Ms Burgauer also said there will be plenty for farmers to engage with and get their teeth into throughout.

“A number of workshops focus on support for small to medium enterprises, processing facilities, broadband, mobile phone signal, land use and management and transport, all of which are examining the current issues and identifying solutions and actions to be taken,” she said.

“There is also a varied programme of local visits for interest including farm diversification projects such as Ogilvie Vodka Distillery and the Hideaway Experience.”

With Brexit at the forefront of many peoples’ minds, the impact that leaving the EU will have on rural Scotland will undoubtedly be a hot topic.

Discussions on that matter will be chaired in Brechin by Ruth Wishart and thrashed around between MSPs Councillor Mairi Evans, Peter Chapman and Lewis Macdonald.

Further workshops include topics such as business and enterprise support, legislation on food, farming and health, pushing for smaller processing facilities – barriers and solutions, land use and management, woman and the distribution of land, and local food availability.

Exhibitors on-site include the Scottish Government, James Hutton Institute and SRUC, Uan Wool, RHET and Women’s Enterprise. n Further information can be found at www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk.

It has been developed byandfor the people who live and workinthe countryside. AMANDA BURGAUER