Attendees, the majority of whom being faith leaders, were challenged to find workable solutions for creating a sustainable future for rural Britain.

For his part, Mr Booth gave an insight into his company’s new working from home policy and how he envisaged that being a positive catalyst for sharing expert knowledge and expertise in the rural communities where many of his employees reside.

Edwin Booth said: “I recently met a young man who had been a plumber and was starting a new life as a hill farmer. He’d always wanted to work and live in the countryside but there was no conduit. People want to live and work rurally but the reality is we have fewer young families in these villages as there is less provision of local services.

“When I went into our head office today there were approximately 15 people in the building. I will never see more than 80 people in our offices from now on as a result of Covid. Many of my people live in the countryside and are working from their homes.

“Businesses should encourage their colleagues to volunteer in their local communities because if you get a diverse mix of people involved the whole village becomes stronger for it.”

During the inaugural event, Mr Booth pointed toward farming as the lifeblood of rural Britain and said their future prosperity was intrinsically linked to the fortunes of our villages.

Mr Booth continued: “Reductions in the amount of labour on farms has changed the face of our rural villages and towns. A lot of low-cost properties have been repurposed to create high end homes, some of which are holiday cottages.

“Rural surgeries are closing and there are not as many people in these areas to keep an eye on the more elderly residents of the district.

“Our farms are getting larger because sometimes succession is not an option and amalgamation is the only way. Farmers are going to need to look within their farm boundaries and optimise the potential for business and create new value enhancing activities.

“So many elements of farm life have been subsidised and this represents a huge slice of income, but with upcoming changes a lot of this subsidy stands to be lost. Our farmers are going to need help to try and adapt.”

The rural support group concluded that diversification, better forward planning and mitigating risks could help farming and rural communities survive. They also suggested recommendations for more inclusivity and better rural transport links.

Mr Booth promised to relay the feedback he’d received to fellow trustees of the Prince’s Countryside Fund.

Archdeacon of Lancaster David Picken then held closing prayers and a commitment was made for the group to convene again in 2022.