Welcome to our new chairman, Alan James

Alan James has been appointed Chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Alan, who lives at Haddenham near Ely, has been a keen member of the organisation for over 10 years. “My interest in taking care of the countryside dates back to my childhood on a smallholding on the North Cornish coast,” he said. “When we moved to Berkshire I spent my spare time helping out on my uncle’s farm on the outskirts of Bracknell. The family, who were all farmers, were horrified as much of their best land was compulsorily purchased to form what are now motorways and the Southern Industrial Estate. Over the years, the ‘greenbelts’, too, have been gradually nibbled away. Now I can see the same pattern emerging in Cambridgeshire, driven by some of the same development companies that I first heard of sixty years ago.”

Alan, who is a Chartered Environmentalist, has a professional background which includes supplying Environmental Management Software to industry. He has lived in Cambridgeshire for nearly forty years. Since moving to the Fens over fourteen years ago, he has become involved in several campaigns to preserve the special landscape and natural heritage of the area.

“Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are facing huge challenges,” he said. “There is an obvious need for housing nationally, also for sustainable business growth. However we are a nation which imports over 60% of its food. Our largest area of productive land is the Fens, which are under long term threat of permanent flooding as sea levels rise due to climate change. There must be an approach to planning which has the conservation of best and most versatile farmland as its highest priority”.

“It is a privilege to have been appointed Chairman of my local CPRE branch. I am looking forward to helping CPRE Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to speak up for our region’s unique landscapes and communities and to helping ensure we leave the best possible environmental legacy to future generations.”