News
London Resort examination will not begin before January 2022
Tuesday 24 August 2021
The proposed London Resort theme park has largely disappeared from the radar in recent months, so it is timely to give an update on proceedings. The plans for the country’s largest theme park, which CPRE Kent views as highly damaging to our natural environment, are targeted at the Swanscombe peninsula between Greenhithe and Northfleet. In […] Read more >
Join us at our AGM and listen to guest speaker from Essex NFU
Friday 20 August 2021
The NFU’s Dr Jake Richards is guest speaker at this year’s CPRE Essex AGM. Dr Richards is county adviser to the Essex branch of the NFU (National Farmers Union) and has kindly agreed to join us for the event, being held on Saturday, October 2, via Zoom. It had been hoped initially to run the […] Read more >
Our stolen night skies
Thursday 19 August 2021
We humans seem preconditioned to take rather than give back – perhaps nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to nature and our dark skies. Dark skies are more than just pretty stars in the sky or moonlit trees on a clear night. As romantic as that sounds, the darkness we inexplicably try […] Read more >
The signs are there if you look… so not so fast with that sharp tongue, Gordon!
Wednesday 11 August 2021
Photographer Gordon Ridgewell has had to perform something of a volte-face after one of his typically wry observations… Having snapped a signpost lacking any place names, Gordon made the withering remark: “If you want a mystery tour, come to north-west Essex as we have a confused signpost. Probably a paint job, but it looks funny. […] Read more >
Not coming to Waltham Abbey… a giant Next distribution centre
Wednesday 11 August 2021
Plans for a Next distribution centre at Waltham Abbey have been refused by Epping Forest District Council. The verdict on the five-hectare warehouse, multi-storey car park and photo studio came at an extraordinary council meeting held on Tuesday, June 24. Council officers had originally recommended the Next scheme be approved, but the development management committee […] Read more >
Our open letter to government: heroic hedgerows and climate change
Tuesday 10 August 2021
CPRE, the countryside charity, has joined with other major charities to call for urgent action to extend the country’s hedgerows by 40% by 2050 to protect nature and help tackle the climate crisis. Our humble hedgerows are the unsung heroes of the countryside. They have been adding beauty and character to our landscapes for centuries […] Read more >
The fight to save a precious Harlow green lung
Tuesday 10 August 2021
A fierce campaign is being launched against plans for a four-lane bridge over the River Stort at Harlow that would destroy an area of lakes, wetland and woods. The scheme, known as the Eastern River Stort Crossing, is linked to Harlow and Gilston Garden Town and aims to link housing development at Pye Corner in […] Read more >
In front of us, Victoria sponge. Above us, the Red Arrows…
Tuesday 3 August 2021
A couple of treats from our favourite CPRE Essex supporter Gordon Ridgewell today… The first features a Victoria sponge and Gordon tells us: “I am into cooking now, so I might do a cookbook called Grandad Gordon’s. It will be basic but have loads of calories!” The subject of the other shot will surely be […] Read more >
A patchwork of paradise in a very special nature reserve
Tuesday 3 August 2021
Writer Anne Boileau offers an enticing taste of a delightful Essex woodland where “small groups used to meet up for dawn chorus and bacon butties in the spring”. A little chunk of paradise has fallen among us… Between Stisted and Greensted Green lies a small nature reserve known as Belcher’s and Broadfield Woods, or Brookes […] Read more >
Staycation with a Bicycle… Jaywick or bust!
Thursday 29 July 2021
June 2021 In their latest adventure in the saddle, Christine and David Knight took to Route 150… For people who don’t live by the sea, the Essex coast in all its diversity is always a special place to visit. From popular holiday resorts to lonely marshes, from the North Sea to tidal rivers and from […] Read more >