Climate change meeting in Gloucestershire

​Climate change and the future of farming in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be the focus of a public meeting.

The Cotswolds Conservation Board will hold its annual forum at eco-friendly Toddington Village Hall on February 26.

This year’s event will highlight the findings of a report published by the board last year which focused on globalisation and climate change implications for agriculture and woodlands over the next 20 years.

The forum is expected to attract representatives from the farming and forestry sectors, along with local authorities, conservation and environmental organisations.

Keynote speakers lined up are Defra’s Robin Mortimer, director of climate change adaptation, air quality, landscape and rural affairs; Jim Smyllie, executive director, regional delivery at Natural England; Dr Mark Broadmeadow, climate change programme manager at the Forestry Commission; and Paul Cottington, environment advisor for the National Farmers’ Union.

There will also be three case studies showing how farmers and landowners are using renewable energy. They include the National Star College and Elkstone Manor, near Cheltenham.