Environment secretary Caroline Spelman MP has made public the latest England Biodiversity Strategy (1) today (Friday), but its welcome ambitions are threatened by the Government’s agenda for planning reform (2).

Neil Sinden, Policy Director for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), says: “We welcome this new strategy, but delivery will be frustrated, if not impossible, without a fundamental rethink of the Government’s proposals for planning reform.   Recently published draft national planning policies threaten large areas of countryside, which will make the desired landscape-scale approach to wildlife conservation very difficult to achieve.

“The Environment  secretary has said that ‘this generation can be the first to leave our natural environment in a better state than they found it’. Encouragingly the Department recognises the vital role of the planning system, but it needs to work harder to get other parts of Government, notably the Treasury, to understand this if this goal is to be achieved.”

End

Notes to Editors

[1] The Biodiversity 2020: A strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystems services was launched by DEFRA on 19 August.

[2] The draft National Planning Policy Framework published by DCLG for consultation on 25 July poses a huge threat to the countryside.

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.