Countryside champions, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), today welcomed the announcement by the Government of 12 Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs), restoring habitats and creating new areas for wildlife [1]. The establishment of NIAs was a key commitment in 2011’s Natural Environment White Paper, The Natural Choice.

Ben Stafford, Head of Campaigns at CPRE, said: “This announcement is good news for England’s natural environment. The fact that there were 76 bids for the money to set up these areas shows the enthusiasm for protecting and enhancing nature up and down the country.

“We hope this will be just the start of a process. As well as making a success of these first NIAs, we should all – government, local councils, communities and voluntary groups – look at how we can create many more in the future. Landscape-scale conservation of the natural environment, as recommended by Sir John Lawton in his Making Space for Nature report, will demand ambition, vision and, in the longer term, more resources from government.”

However, CPRE warned that the Government’s ambition for a new approach to protecting nature across England could be undermined if it doesn’t get its planning reforms right.

Ben Stafford concluded:

“If we want to make our countryside as a whole better for nature, NIAs and other protected sites are important, but they are only part of the picture. The bits between these sites matter just as much – no-one wants a landscape of isolated nature sites with degraded countryside in between.

“So it is very worrying that the Government’s proposed national planning policies drop wording that gives countryside outside designated sites such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest proper planning protection. Failing to protect this ‘ordinary’ countryside will make the recovery of wildlife and the natural environment harder, not easier. The Government now has a final chance to support its own vision for NIAs by ensuring protection for the undesignated countryside in the final National Planning Policy Framework.”

End

Notes to Editors
[1] DEFRA, 12 Nature Improvement Areas announced, http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/whitepaper/nia/

The writer Sir Andrew Motion will formally be proposed as the new President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) in June 2012, succeeding the author Bill Bryson who finishes his five year presidency this summer.

Sir Andrew, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 until 2009 and is Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, spoke at a CPRE event on Wednesday night of his passion for the English countryside, the inspiration he draws from its beauty and tranquillity, and how the countryside is a national asset that should be accessible to everyone.

Sir Andrew Motion says: “To be proposed for this role is a mixture of joy, honour and a little trepidation, particularly when following in the footsteps of the current incumbent, the magnificent Bill Bryson. But if CPRE members will have me, then I am fully prepared to stand up for the countryside alongside them.

“When Government planning reform could place two thirds of rural England at the mercy of a presumption in favour of development, this is a critical moment for the countryside and for anyone who wants a say over what happens to their community and their surroundings.”

Sir Andrew Motion will be proposed at the CPRE AGM on June 28. Bill Bryson has held the post since June 2007.

National charity CPRE publishes a new report into the economic and social value of local food to Ledbury just days before a crunch council meeting to decide on a major out-of-town supermarket application.

In the latest of its ‘From field to fork’ reports [1], the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has today published a detailed report into the network of outlets and suppliers that make up Ledbury’s local food economy [2].

Aimed at discovering the social and economic contribution made by local food to Ledbury, the report concludes that local food supports over 680 jobs in and around the town, making a considerable contribution to the local economy and community. The report warns that allowing the construction of a large, out-of-town supermarket would threaten Ledbury’s established local food network.

Download: ‘From field to fork: Ledbury – mapping the local food web’

Thea Platt, Local Food Campaigner for CPRE, says: “It can be difficult to put a number on the value of local food to a community. Many of the businesses involved can be small and the relationships between them complex. With our ‘From field to fork’ reports we have attempted to quantify these networks and show how important they can be to a thriving community.

“As we study these networks we are often finding that, as a whole, they make a huge social, economic and environmental contribution to a town. They are also frequently at the heart of local initiatives and good causes, and bring distinctiveness to their local areas. 

“But we also know these networks are sensitive to disruption and need support to flourish. We have found stronger networks in places with fewer out-of-town retail outlets. These networks do best in places like Ledbury with thriving town centres and a good mix of retail outlets.

“I hope that our Ledbury report can be used by the local council, chamber of commerce and other community leaders to come together to see how they can best support Ledbury’s local food web.”

The report will prove timely for the members of Herefordshire Council’s planning committee who are meeting on Wednesday 22 February to discuss an application by Sainsbury’s to build a 30,000 sq ft retail store and petrol station on Leadon Way on the outskirts of the town.

Thea Platt commented: “Ledbury is one of 19 locations we have been studying as part of our Mapping Local Food Webs project across England. Although the timing of the report is unconnected to this local planning issue, I hope that it proves useful to the committee.”

Key findings from the report:

• Choice, availability and access to local food are good with 25 food outlets selling local food and for a majority of these outlets it represents a quarter or more of turnover;
• Local shops are servicing public demand for fresh, high quality food, supported by short supply chains;
• Local food supports, we estimate, 200 jobs at outlets and over 480 at local suppliers;
• Local food sales in Ledbury are an estimated £1.5 million to £2.7 million a year and help to support £29.5 million of turnover at supply chain businesses;
• A minimum of 95 local producers within 30 miles supply food directly to outlets we interviewed in Ledbury, reducing food miles and related pollution;
• Ledbury maintains its market town heritage and has a thriving high street with a good range of independent shops;
• Residents, visitors and tourists recognise the good availability of local food in the town;
• Local food supports diversity in farming, which shapes and maintains the character of the local countryside;
• Many shops and suppliers contribute to community life by donating to local good causes and offer a friendly, personal service.

End

Notes to Editors
[1] Mapping Local Food Webs is a national project led by CPRE, supported by Sustain, and funded from 2007 to 2012 by the Big Lottery through the Making Local Food Work programme. The project engages people in researching their own local food web in up to three towns and cities in each of the eight English regions. Aided by around 300 volunteers, CPRE has been working with local volunteers to map the food webs around 19 towns and cities across England.  Six pilot study reports were launched in April 2011. We will be reporting on a further 13 locations in several stages over 2012. Today marks the launch of the first of these. http://bit.ly/w4HKG9
[2] CPRE, From field to fork: Ledbury, 19 February 2012, http://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/farming-and-food/local-foods/item/download/1759

Countryside champions, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, welcome the Forestry Panel’s progress report [1] on their vision for the future of England’s forests but emphasise the need for stronger protection for trees in national planning policy.

Emma Marrington, Rural Policy Campaigner for CPRE, says: “We are pleased the Forestry Panel agrees that the benefits of woods and forests are greatly undervalued. The Government were wrong to see Forestry Commission land as just another asset to sell off. This report makes it crystal clear that the benefits provided by the public forest estate offer value for money.”

The final recommendations by the Independent Panel on Forestry, due in April 2012, will come at a vital time for the future of England’s countryside. The final National Planning Policy Framework is expected around the same time and if this is not greatly improved, it is likely to leave much of our countryside as an easy target for development.

Emma Marrington concluded: “The Government must listen to the Forestry Panel’s recommendations and ensure that a secure future is planned for the public forest estate.  Our trees, woods and forests need to be more effectively protected, for the benefit of all, for generations to come.”

Ends

Notes to Editors
[1] The Independent Forestry Panel was established on 17 March 2011 by the Secretary of State, Caroline Spelman, to advise government on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England. The Panel will submit its final report to Government in April 2012. The progress report is: http://www.defra.gov.uk/forestrypanel/reports/

Today (Tuesday) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a bold agenda for the natural environment [1]. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) supports the thrust of the Natural Environment White Paper (NEWP) which is full of commitments that, if fully implemented, will mark a significant step forward for our natural heritage.

However, CPRE cautions that, unless the White Paper has buy-in from Departments across Whitehall, particularly from the Department for Communities and Local Government which is pushing forward the Government’s planning reforms, it will not achieve its potential.

Ben Stafford, Head of Campaigns at CPRE, says: “Reading through the commitments in this White Paper, there is much that will get three cheers from those who love and want to improve the English countryside.

“Perhaps most encouragingly, the Secretary of State Caroline Spelman highlights the intrinsic value of nature in her foreword to the White Paper, showing that she understands that the natural environment is at least as much about inspiration as economic value.”

There are many positives to take from the NEWP, including:

• Support for local community engagement in landscape planning;
• A commitment to the importance of landscape character;
• Proposals for Nature Improvement Areas;
• The establishment of Local Nature Partnerships;
• Recognition of the role of voluntary activity in tackling litter;
• The prospect of new work to combat light pollution, a blight on the lives of many people that has been neglected for too long.

The big disappointment of the White Paper is what it says – and doesn’t say – about planning. The planning system has been the most powerful tool for environmental improvement and protection over the past 50 years. It has driven the regeneration of our towns and cities and has protected valuable landscapes and the countryside around towns. The NEWP contains few details about the environmental role of planning. Ministers will need to make this explicit link if they are serious about protecting the natural environment.

Ben Stafford continues: “The big question now is whether the whole of government can be relied upon to support the good work of Defra and the aims of this White Paper. While this is in many ways an inspiring document, sadly every silver lining has a cloud. In this case that cloud is the failure to be more confident about the critical environmental role of planning.

“We are concerned that the Treasury and Department of Business have already sought to distort the ongoing planning reforms. There is a risk they will attempt to water down the commitments in the White Paper as well [2]. In the interests of the Government’s green credibility, this cannot be allowed to happen.”

End

Notes to Editors
[1] DEFRA, The Natural Environment White Paper, 07 June 2011, http://www.archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/documents/newp-white-paper-110607.pdf
[2] CPRE Localism Bill Briefing - http://www.cpre.org.uk/media-centre/latest-news-releases/item/2292-the-lords-must-put-the-local-back-into-the-localism-bill

Next week (Tuesday) the Government will publish its Natural Environment White Paper, the first such major statement of policy on the natural environment for over 20 years. The White Paper will be a hugely important vehicle for delivering on the Prime Minister’s promise to lead the Greenest Government Ever. 

Countryside champions the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has welcomed the Government’s commitment to the White Paper. Ahead of publication, CPRE has set out some key tests that will determine how well the White Paper will protect our environment and countryside in the years to come.

Ben Stafford, Head of Campaigns at CPRE, says: “If the Natural Environment White Paper really is to deliver on the Government’s promise to be the greenest ever it will need to be ambitious and wide-ranging. It needs to set out a bold vision for how we can restore our countryside, and attach greater value to our landscapes, with the support of Ministers right across the Government.”

CPRE believes the White Paper needs to:

• Recognise the crucial relationship between good planning and environmental protection.  With the Government’s Localism Bill currently going through Parliament, and a comprehensive re-write of planning policy on the horizon, it is critical that Ministers show they understand the essential role of planning in acting in the public interest to protect and improve the environment, and not just as a tool to drive economic growth, as suggested by George Osborne in his Budget [1].
• Deliver for the whole natural environment, not just biodiversity.  We know Ministers are concerned about declines in wildlife, and they are right to be so.  But the natural environment is about much more than just biodiversity.  This White Paper must set out what the Government will do to protect and improve our landscapes, safeguard tranquillity in the countryside and tackle light pollution. These things matter hugely to the millions of people who visit the countryside for relaxation and inspiration, as well as to those who live and work in it.
• Value nature in its own right. This week’s National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) [2] is a hugely important report that begins to put a price on many of the services nature provides, and shows that we have under-valued them for far too long.  It will be a vital tool for decision-makers.  But price and value are not the same thing.  We need to be clear that there are things that cannot, and should not, be measured in pounds and pence.  Beauty, tranquillity and the inspiration provided by nature are worth protecting for their own sake, not just for their economic value or impact on the national balance sheet.

Ben Stafford concluded: “We hope everyone who loves the countryside, our beautiful landscapes and the wildlife they support will be able to support the Natural Environment White Paper and the opportunities it presents.  But its effectiveness will depend on how far the whole Government gets behind it.

“We need some poetry from this White Paper among all the prose.  If we really value and want to protect nature, we should be unashamed to say that it is because of the joy and inspiration it brings us, as well as the services it provides.  What price a beautiful view?  How do we measure the worth of a breathtaking sunset, or a picture-perfect English landscape of rolling fields and hedgerows?  In grim economic times, the Government has the chance to lift our sights and our spirits – let’s hope they take it.”

End

Notes to Editors
[1] In his Budget statement to Parliament on 23 March 2011, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon George Osborne MP said: “And we are going to tackle what every government has identified as a chronic obstacle to economic growth in Britain, and no government has done anything about: the planning system. …We will expect all bodies involved in planning to prioritise growth and jobs; We will introduce a new presumption in favour of sustainable development, so that the default answer to development is ‘yes’”.
[2] DEFRA, National Ecosystems Assessment, http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) today (Tuesday) warns that time is running out for the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE) [1] to deliver on its promises. The CFE aims to replace the environmental benefits previously provided by set aside [2], through voluntary actions, but new figures show that currently many farmers are failing to give the campaign the support it needs. CPRE is urging the Government to have alternative measures ready for introduction if there isn’t a major boost in support from farmers over the coming year.

The latest Defra survey [3] has found that, despite the concerted efforts made by CFE partner organisations [4] and pleas by Farming Minister, Jim Paice MP, to get involved, around three quarters (76 per cent) of farmers have not taken up any of the campaign’s voluntary measures. Even more worrying, of these four out of five farmers (79 per cent) say they don’t intend to contribute in the future. Despite these very negative findings, the survey suggests that since the CFE began those farmers who are participating have increased the area of farm land dedicated to the campaign’s aims.

The latest survey results suggest the Government should have a ‘Plan B’ ready to go in a year’s time. It should begin thinking about what compulsory measures might be needed to make sure all farmers deliver the environmental benefits the campaign has promised. Ministers have been very clear these will be introduced if the campaign does not live up to expectations [5].

Ian Woodhurst, CPRE’s Senior Farming Campaigner says: “The Campaign for the Farmed Environment has just over a year left to run. We know that many farmers are excellent stewards of the countryside, and some are doing a great job in providing environmental benefits from their land. But too many of their colleagues are letting them down.

“If new regulations are to be avoided, more farmers need to start pulling their weight to prove their claim that they can deliver for the environment right across the country.

Ministers should also learn the lessons of the CFE so far, and seriously consider whether relying on voluntary action is a realistic option when it comes to protecting the environment. The Government’s forthcoming review of farming regulations needs to take into account the difficulties the CFE is facing in achieving its aims. We can’t just hope for the best and leave it to a dedicated few when it comes to protecting our countryside and its wildlife.”

End

Notes to Editors
[1] In 2009 the Government consulted on two alternatives for retaining the environmental benefits of set-aside. One was a mandatory approach that would require all farmers to put a small percentage of their land into environmental management. The other was a voluntary approach devised by the farming industry which the Government decided to implement. The Campaign for the Farmed Environment was therefore established. The CFE’s aim is to encourage farmers to sign up to options in the Entry Level Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ELS), and implement additional voluntary measures that aim to recapture the environmental benefits associated with former set-aside land. It provides advice, support, and training to farmers and their advisers who choose to participate in the Campaign in order to facilitate the implementation of measures on their farms.

[2] Set aside was introduced in 1988 to prevent over production of food by taking agricultural land out of production. Set aside land could then be managed to produce environmental benefits, for example by providing areas of feeding habitat for wildlife and by preventing water courses becoming contaminated by agricultural sprays. Areas of set aside also added to the diversity of the landscape by creating patches of non-cultivated land. In recent years around 500,000 hectares of land has been left fallow or put into set-aside, making it England’s third largest land use. CPRE agreed set aside should be phased out, now that the CAP no longer requires farmers to produce particular crops to receive farming payments, but called for a mandatory measure to be introduced to prevent the loss of the environmental benefits accrued while set aside existed.

[3] Statistics from the Defra Survey of Land Managed under the Campaign for the Farmed Environment for the 2010/11 crop year were released on 10 May. The survey was run in the middle of February 2011. Table 6.1 Have you put land into some form of unpaid environmental management by choosing at least one of the Campaign voluntary measures? Yes = 23% No = 76%. Table 4.1 If you have taken no action in response to the Campaign do you intend to do so? Yes = 21% No = 79%
See - http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/files/defra-stats-foodfarm-environ-environmanagement-2ndmonitoringsurv-1011year.pdf

[4] CFE partner organisations include: National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, and Linking Environment and Farming, working in partnership with Defra, Natural England, the Environment Agency and the RSPB. For further details see http://www.cfeonline.org.uk/

[5] In February, in an open letter to the farming industry, Minister for Agriculture, Jim Paice said: “The Government is putting food production back up the agenda, but we have made it clear that this must be done alongside protecting and enhancing the environment and farmers must show they can do both. The CFE is the farming industry’s chance to demonstrate that this voluntary approach can work better than regulation and that they are best placed to decide on, and tackle, their local environmental priorities, without intervention. But if the farming community cannot step up and achieve these results voluntarily the Government will have to consider a compulsory approach to deliver these same benefits.” See http://www.cfeonline.org.uk/News/Back-CFE-or-risk%E2%80%98compulsory-approach%E2%80%99,-says-Jim-Paice/

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) fights for a better future for the English countryside. We work locally and nationally to protect, shape and enhance a beautiful, thriving countryside for everyone to value and enjoy. Our 57,000 members are united in their love for England’s landscapes and rural communities, and stand up for the countryside, so it can continue to sustain, enchant and inspire future generations. Founded in 1926, President: Bill Bryson, Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

Bill Bryson, President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), sparks a national debate on the publication of a provocative paper and online forum on England’s countryside: Towards a vision for the countryside.

Commenting on the launch of the online forum Mr Bryson said:

‘Last year I was challenged to lead a debate with our members on the future of the countryside in 2026, CPRE’s centenary year.

‘But we want a wider, national debate. After all, if we can explore and understand what people want from our countryside in 20 years time, then we will be in a much better position to plan the steps to get there.

‘We’ll campaign on the results and seek to influence Government. But this isn’t an issue that should be left to politicians. It should be debated by everyone, from farmers to business people, planners to village shop owners. We believe we can all take action to protect the countryside, enhance it, and promote its importance, that’s why we’ve outlined one possible, positive vision, and set up a debates page for all views on the future of our countryside.’

CPRE’s contribution to the debate comes with the publication of Towards a vision for the countryside, and the online debate forum. This includes identification of five key countryside issues that describe possible futures for people and places in 2026:

Key issues:

• Lifestyle and leisure England’s countryside has blossomed into its Natural Health Service. Farm and country visits are part of the school curriculum and many more people, from a broad demography, are using and visiting the countryside.

• Life in our cities, towns and villages Thanks to good planning, three quarters of new homes created will be contained within urban areas – but built on existing brownfield land. Some will be built on countryside. Smaller towns and villages will grow as a result of the revival in locally produced food and the interest in the countryside for leisure. This will also help to create more local jobs.

• Climate change and the countryside Farmers have helped to reduce CO2 emissions by moving away from crops that require large amounts of synthetic, oil derived fertilisers. To adapt to the changing climate, new areas of coastal wetland will be created. Increased rainfall will be absorbed through better land management and technologies. Biodiverse and tranquil reservoirs will store enough water to take us through droughts.

• Food and farming Farmers will earn part of their income from maintaining the countryside. They’ll also generate an income from countryside visits as people take more holidays there. The wildflowers, birds, insects and mammals that had so dwindled over the previous 70 years have returned in a rush of sights, sounds and smells. Farmers will play their part in supplying our energy needs diversifying into bio-energy crops, growing rapeseed oil and fast growing trees for wood burning.

• Planning A new focus of the planning system will be on increased use of the ‘countryside next door’, within a few minutes walk of where people live. Development will be completed sensitively, retaining countryside character while encouraging access and recreation. We will have a greener Green Belt.

Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of CPRE, said:

‘We all have different views about the kind of landscape we want to pass on to the next generation. We are not predicting the future, but exploring how things might look in 2026.

‘While we continue to defend countryside from inappropriate development we also want to come up with positive solutions. We want to show how necessary development can be accommodated without eating up too much countryside, and how the countryside’s value – as an amenity, in supplying food, in helping us mitigate and adapt to climate change – can be enhanced.

‘We have set out one exciting possible vision. Be we can’t provide all the answers. We need a national debate that will, we hope, lead to a shared understanding of the sort of countryside we want to see and how to get it.’

– END –

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

2. Join the online debate forum at www.cpre.org.uk

The Leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon David Cameron MP, will outline his views on the future of the countryside in a major speech hosted by the Campaign to Protect Rural England [1] on Monday 12 May. 

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NOTE FOR EDITORS

David Cameron’s speech will be given at the Royal United Services Institute at 61 Whitehall in central London at 11.00 am on Monday 12 May before an invited audience. Journalists are welcome to attend – please contact CPRE’s press office in advance on 020 7981 2880.

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The speech comes as CPRE debates its own vision for the countryside in 2026 [2], which will be the organisation’s centenary year. Founded in 1926 in response to the scourge of urban sprawl and ribbon development, CPRE continues to fight for sustainable development which safeguards the countryside and improves the urban environment. 

CPRE’s Chief Executive, Shaun Spiers, will set the scene for the speech, which will be followed by a question and answer session, with contributions from Elinor Goodman, former political journalist and member of the Commission for Rural Communities, and Michael Coupe, former Head of Planning at English Heritage and member of CPRE’s Policy Committee.  The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party Policy Review, will respond.

Shaun Spiers commented:

‘The countryside faces an uncertain future. Climate change, population growth, housing expansion, and demands for new transport and energy infrastructure, as well as acute pressure on farming and rural communities, all add up to a major agenda for change.
 
‘How can we make better use of our scarce land resource? Who and what is the countryside for?  How can we develop sustainable rural communities?  These are the some of the questions we are considering following the launch of our debate on the future of the countryside last year with a major speech by David Miliband when he was Secretary of State for the Environment. [3]  

‘We look forward to hearing what David Cameron has to say on these issues so that we can continue to build a new consensus on the kind of countryside we would like to hand on to future generations.’

– END –

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

2. CPRE published a discussion pamphlet 20:26 Vision: What future for the countryside? on 26 February 2008.  This contains a provocative paper Towards a vision for the countryside which set out one possible future to stimulate debate within CPRE and with the public.  At the same time we launched an online forum to debate the issues – go to www.cpre.org.uk/debates to take part.

3. The 20:26 Vision pamphlet – see above – also reproduced the speech by David Miliband MP, entitled A Land Fit for the Future – http://cpredebates.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/2026-vision-what-future-for-the-countryside.pdf

The Leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon David Cameron MP, spoke of his vision for the future of the English countryside today (Monday).

A civil society approach, grounded in community and social values and working along side economic activity, was the key-note theme of David Cameron’s speech delivered at the annual lecture organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) [1] in London.

David Cameron said:

‘The beauty of our landscape; the particular culture and traditions that rural life sustains, these are national treasures, to be cherished and protected for everyone’s benefit.

‘I know there are many serious problems facing rural communities today, and I know what effective advocates CPRE are when it comes to solving those problems. But I believe there’s something bigger that connects the problems faced by rural communities with the problems we face in our towns and cities. It’s not about this policy or that policy. It’s about an attitude – a philosophy of government if you like.’

David Cameron continued to outline a vision for rural communities that would give power to the local, the individual and the community and a continued strengthening of society to ensure the survival of local services such as health, transport and post offices, while enabling communities to have their say on affordable housing, planning and the production of food.

The annual lecture is part of a 12-month consultation on the future of the countryside in 2026, which will be CPRE’s centenary year.

Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of CPRE, commented:

‘At the start of our national debate on the future of the countryside we heard David Miliband, then Environment Secretary, outline his vision for land use. Listening to David Cameron give his first major speech about the countryside, it was refreshing to hear his pledge to put people and communities first and that we should trust local communities to shape decisions affecting them.
 
‘The Conservative party will soon be publishing a Green Paper on housing and planning issues, and we will be very keen to see that it reflects the positive future for our rural communities, our green spaces, farming and food production that David Cameron has outlined today.

‘But this isn’t a vision that should be left only to politicians. It should be debated by everyone. Town and country need each other to prosper and we believe we can all take action to ensure a beautiful and working countryside that we are proud to pass on to future generations.’