With announcements expected on Garden Cities, planning, and new cash for road building in tomorrow's autumn statement, Chancellor must resist sacrificing open countryside

CPRE warmly welcomes the Government’s announcement today that the new Groceries Code Adjudicator will have the power to fine retailers from the outset.

In our press release issued this morning we said that Planning Minister Nick Boles would use his speech to the TCPA tomorrow to call for an increase in the built-up area of land in England from nine to 12 percent. We understand from his Department that Mr Boles will make these comments on Newsnight, rather than to the TCPA. We therefore remain extremely concerned about the impact his proposals could have on the countryside, and continue to urge him, and the Government, to focus instead on the development of brownfield sites, and on prevailing on housebuilders to build the 400,000 houses for which they already have planning permission.”

A survey is published today (November, 27), organised by Wildlife and Countryside Link which is a coalition of 39 leading environmental charities - including CPRE. Few people think that the Government is doing enough to protect our landscapes and wildlife (23%), and less than a third (29%) think that the Government is taking the natural environment into consideration when making decisions. Read the whole results...