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Farming Today: Rural churches; Salmon fishing in Wales

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29/08/2017

Rural churches; Salmon fishing in Wales

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, Rural churches; Salmon fishing in Wales

With congregations declining and bills rising, what is the future for rural churches?

Farming Today embarks on a week-long look at rural churches. With congregations declining and maintenance bills rising, what does the future hold? Sybil Ruscoe finds out.

All this week Farming Today is looking at the future of rural churches. With congregations declining and maintenance bills ever increasing, many churches and chapels are finding they need to adapt in order to survive. Sybil Ruscoe talks to a spokesman from the Churches Conservation Trust, who explains that most of the churches which are listed buildings are in rural areas, where the congregations also tend to be the smallest. Meanwhile Emily Hughes visits a chapel in Wiltshire which has broadened its scope to include the village shop, the post office and even a the office of the local police community support officer.

The Angling Trust claims that Welsh fishermen will be unfairly penalised by new rules designed to reverse the decline in salmon and sea trout numbers. It's responding to plans by Natural Resources Wales to force anglers to throw back fish they catch on Welsh rivers for the next ten years. Steffan Messenger hears from both sides.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Emma Campbell.

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