FROM a former urban heartland in Warrington, the Northwest Development Agency is aiming to forge a £100 million countryside revolution, with the appointment of a new rural affairs head.

Formerly a regional director of the National Farmers Union, Steve Heaton main task will be to take charge of the NWDA's Rural Renaissance programme.

Steve, who lives in Warrington, is also a governor at Myerscough College, Lancashire, one of the country's foremost agricultural institutions.

He will be based at the agency's new outpost in the brew house at the former Greenalls brewery near Stockton Heath.

Recently the agency has completed a rural work space audit, allowing council and countryside agencies to instantly assess the day-to-day availability of rural development land.