ENDING the digital divide is one of the main priorities a North-East landowners organisation wants the next Government to tackle.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) in the region also says it must secure resilience in farming and protect the countryside.

The CLA is sending five priorities to all prospective parliamentary candidates. They are to deliver a Brexit that works for the countryside; create the homes that rural communities need; implement a simpler, more cost-effective planning system in rural areas; end the digital divide for rural communities; and design a tax regime that encourages and does not discriminate against rural businesses.

Andrew Martell, chairman of the CLA North East branch, said the CLA would “especially wield its cudgels” on issues of concern such as hill farming, tourism and forestry.

He said: “Hill farming is a vital part of our rural economy and of all the types of agricultural production in the area, it needs the most support.

“There are long-established communities dependent on this type of farming, and it is inconceivable that anyone would want them uprooted and impoverished.

“In addition, without adequate support to manage these landscapes, they will become vulnerable to becoming barren, lifeless and unkempt, with walls and buildings collapsing and with no animals except vermin and birds of prey.”

On tourism he said: “It is undeniable that tourism brings much needed money to the area – just think of Alnwick Garden and the very positive impact in County Durham of Auckland Castle and Kynren on both culture and employment in the region.

“The CLA will continue to champion rural businesses that stimulate the North-East’s rural economy.”

Mr Martell said forestry was often cast as the countryside’s Cinderella but trees improve air quality, help flood control, provide a much needed commodity and are essential for capturing carbon.

He said: “As it stands, we import 80 per cent of our timber, with only 12 per cent of UK land covered by trees compared with a 38 per cent average in the EU.

“In this context, it is clear that such a long-term and essential commodity really needs Government support.

“The Government’s target of 11 million trees being planted each year is unachievable without a grant system that provides genuine incentives for long-term investment, which are simple, transparent and unshackled by unwieldy bureaucracy.”

Mr Martell urged all who live and work in the countryside to challenge election candidates on how they intend to make a real commitment to farming and the countryside if elected.