8 Jul 2019
A new report, which explores land-use options post-Brexit, suggests that increasing the area of semi-natural habitats such as chalk grassland and heathland could increase economic growth by up to 5% and employment by up to 8%.
In Dorset alone, this could deliver an £0.8 billion increase in the local economy and create more than 25,000 jobs.
In contrast, the research by Bournemouth University and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has suggested that the expansion of agricultural land would only increase economic growth and employment by less than 0.3%.