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Help shape the future of the countryside – your say counts
The Government is consulting on its vision for the natural environment, including our best landscapes and the wonderfully rich and diverse English countryside.  In July, it launched a discussion document, An invitation to shape the Nature of England. 

Ministers are asking for ideas from members of the public, community groups and organisations such as CPRE about what their priorities should be for protecting the natural environment.  We believe this is a really important opportunity to help shape the future of the countryside – if we want to achieve the aims of CPRE’s 2026 Vision, politicians need to do the right things to get us there.

Richard Benyon, Defra Minister asks CPRE members to take part in the consultation. Video: © Defra

Now’s your chance to comment. You can feed your views in until 30 October 2010, by visiting the Defra website.

Internet link
Defra: Natural environment: an invitation to shape the nature of England

There, you can read the Government’s discussion document, and provide answers to four questions. We’re sure you’ll have your own ideas on answering these questions, but if you’re feeling stuck, we've given CPRE’s priorities here:

Question 1: Which parts of the natural environment matter most to you?
England’s most beautiful landscapes – our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – need continuing support. And we must not forget our Green Belts and the wider countryside. The Government’s vision for the natural environment must be about protecting England’s precious countryside from development, and improving our landscapes so they become even more beautiful and rich in wildlife than they are now.

Question 2: How do you feel you benefit from the natural environment?
A beautiful and diverse countryside delivers many benefits, but one that is often under-appreciated is its role in refreshing and reinvigorating us in our daily lives.  Sadly, more and more of the countryside is at risk from development pressure, noise, disturbance and light pollution. We all need to be able to get away from the pressures of daily life, so the Government should do more to safeguard our tranquil spaces and dark skies.

Question 3: How do you think we could improve the natural environment?
We can improve the natural environment by making more of our countryside as good as the very best bits. This means creating new areas of landscape and wildlife habitat to join up our existing mosaic of protected sites, and continuing to support farmers to look after landscape features and wildlife. If we are going to improve the countryside as a whole, we will need a strong and democratic planning process to make it happen.

Question 4: What would encourage you to get involved in protecting the natural environment?
This one’s really up to you. Here at CPRE, we are involved in protecting the natural environment because we value the beauty, diversity and tranquillity of our countryside, and want future generations to be able to enjoy it too. We think we need to safeguard and then improve what we have now – people are inspired by the beauty of the countryside to protect it. Let’s not lose that inspiration!

Assess the character of your local landscape
Campaign to protect and enhance landscape character where you live with your local CPRE group. Contact us, email: campaigns@cpre.org.uk, if you are interested in getting involved.

Join the Landscape Character Network
The Landscape Character Network is an informal network, open to anyone who has an interest in Landscape Character Assessment and its applications. Membership is free and all are welcome to join.

Internet link
Landscape Character Network

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Get involved with a local CPRE branch or regional group
CPRE has 200 district groups, 43 branches and 9 regional groups across England – many of whom are working on this campaign.
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