Rural officials across England have signed up to plans aimed at making the British countryside more ethnically diverse, under a wide-ranging initiative coordinated by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Protected landscapes across the country, including the Chilterns, Cotswolds and Malvern Hills, have adopted diversity targets designed to attract more ethnic minority visitors to areas traditionally dominated by “white middle class” Britons.
The push follows Defra-commissioned research warning that Britain’s natural heritage risks becoming “irrelevant” as the country grows increasingly multicultural.
Internal reports described rural England as a largely “white environment” and urged urgent action to broaden its appeal.
National Landscapes – formerly known as areas of outstanding natural beauty – and their partner councils have now committed to concrete measures to address what officials describe as an imbalance.
In the Chilterns, engagement programmes have been developed specifically to target Muslim communities in nearby Luton.
Recruitment drives will prioritise increasing workforce diversity, while promotional materials will feature ethnic minority individuals and be translated into multiple “community” languages.
Research commissioned by Defra also examined practical barriers that may deter certain groups from visiting rural areas.
Internal reports described rural England as a largely ‘white environment’
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GETTYOne recommendation suggests dogs should be kept under stricter control, citing fears of the animals among some communities.
The Malvern Hills National Landscape said: “Many minority peoples have no connection to nature in the UK because their parents and their grandparents did not feel safe enough to take them or had other survival preoccupations.”
It added: “While most white English users value the solitude and contemplative activities which the countryside affords, the tendency for ethnic minority people is to prefer social company (family, friends, schools).”
A 2019 report overseen by Julian Glover warned that national landscapes could feel exclusionary.
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One recommendation suggests dogs should be kept under stricter control to ease fears
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“We are all paying for national landscapes through our taxes, and yet sometimes on our visits it has felt as if National Parks are an exclusive, mainly white, mainly middle class club,” the report said.
It cautioned: “Our countryside will end up being irrelevant to the country that actually exists.”
In 2022, Defra commissioned a £108,000 study titled “Improving the ethnic diversity of visitors to England’s protected landscapes”.
The research found that first-generation immigrants often perceive protected areas as spaces designed for white, middle-class people.
Research found that first-generation immigrants often perceive protected areas as spaces designed for white, middle-class people
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Traditional pubs were identified as a particular concern in the report
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Traditional pubs were identified as a particular concern, with the report noting: “Muslims from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi group said this contributed to a feeling of being unwelcome.”
Nidderdale National Landscape in North Yorkshire acknowledged that ethnic minority visitors may have concerns about how they will be received and pledged to provide more inclusive information reflecting different cultural interpretations of the countryside.
Cranborne Chase, which spans Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset, plans to target communities where English is not a first language.
Dedham Vale in Suffolk, famously painted by John Constable, has committed to identifying barriers faced by under-represented groups.
Last year, the Government laid out its vision for improving access to Britain’s rural areas.
At the time, a Defra spokesman said: “We will work with government, public bodies, businesses, civil society and communities to support people engaging with nature in their own ways and encourage them to do this safely and appropriately through continued promotion of the countryside code.
“We want to equip communities with the resources, knowledge and skills so they can respond to societal and environmental issues in their neighbourhoods.”