Professor Nigel Curry will present the next lecture in the St Wilfrid series.

The Professor of Countryside Planning at the University of Gloucestershire will look at public policy since the Second World War which he believes has dismantled the social and economic fabric of the countryside.

Prof Curry said: “The potential to move towards a more vibrant, populated ‘rural’ Britain can be seen in reconnecting people with the land and with food, through more community-based local food systems that are more labour intensive and pursue objectives of social inclusion, physical and mental health, environment, community cohesion, waste reduction and shortening food miles.

“But there are policy strands that thwart such developments, not least the structure of funding for rural areas, and a plethora of ‘small rules and regulations’ that can get in the way of a good idea.”

His lecture, For They Know Not What They Do: Reflections On A Lifetime Of Rural Policy, takes place on Thursday, April 23, at 7.30pm in Ripon Cathedral. Professor Curry is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln. He founded the Countryside and Community Research Institute at Gloucestershire in 1986. His public roles include Secretary of State Appointee to the Dartmoor National Park and trusteeship of a rural community council, a land trust and a community farm.

Entry to the lectures is free, tickets are available from the Cathedral Office, email judithbustard@riponcathedral.org.uk or phone 01765 603462. For further information please visit the Ripon Cathedral website.