Countryside recreation provision in England: exploring a demand-led approach

The Countryside Agency has recognised the need for a more demand-led approa ch to countryside recreation provision. This represents a departure from tr aditional planning-led approaches, in which measures of consumption have ge nerally been used as proxies for demand. This paper explores the main deter minants of the demand for recreation, as well as the principal characterist ics of consumption. Despite claims to the contrary, aggregate consumption h as not increased in England for the past 20 years, with the main triggers t o consumption-incomes and tastes-being beyond the direct control of the rec reation policymaker. Despite this, the paper argues that demand-led policy can have a role in manipulating prices, targeting particular social groups and improving the quality rather than the quantity of provision. As a resul t, we argue that in the future the state will be more effective as a facili tator than as a direct provider of countryside recreation facilities. (C) 2 001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.