With elections looming in May, we write to county’s political hopefuls
Monday 26 April 2021
Thursday, May 6, is election day in Essex. Seats on the county council, the two unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock and some district councils will all be contested. We have written to most of the candidates stating our position on environmental matters and asking they make a public pledge to tackle what we see […] Read more >
Cherry blossom, tigers and dragons
Monday 26 April 2021
Lockdown was easing, spring was in the air (if still a little chilly) and writer Anne Boileau was wasting no time in meeting a friend. The pair chose Arger Fen – “one of the loveliest woods I know” – for their walk and it held for Anne the magic it always had. Her beautiful words […] Read more >
Red alert!
Monday 26 April 2021
A shot of airborne beauty today from photographer Gordon Ridgewell, who captured this striking image of a red kite, a species that has prospered in southern England after a series of reintroduction schemes. “I went into our back garden with the dog and camera, and as I looked over the fence this red kite was […] Read more >
Our AONBs are under threat like never before, new report reveals
Thursday 22 April 2021
Essex is blessed with two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): Dedham Vale and Suffolk Coast and Heaths… all right, we share them with Suffolk, but they are both wonderful stretches of countryside. AONBs are some of the country’s most precious landscapes, which you might expect to mean they were safe from being built on. […] Read more >
Gimsons development: a tragedy for Witham
Tuesday 20 April 2021
A tragedy for Witham… CPRE Essex’s John Palombi doesn’t sugar-coat his view of the decision to approve plans to build 78 homes on a sensitive site in the town. Braintree District Council’s planning committee in October last year gave Bellway Homes permission to build the properties on the Gimsons site. This was despite hundreds of […] Read more >
How Epping Forest can play its part in tackling climate change
Tuesday 20 April 2021
We live in a time of extraordinary change and the climate crisis is rightly high on our agenda… you can make that the world agenda! With this in mind, the City of London Corporation is delivering a Climate Action Strategy (CAS), which includes the goal of reducing the corporation’s direct carbon emissions to net-zero by […] Read more >
More blackthorn days!
Tuesday 20 April 2021
Following John Bloxsome’s observation that “the blackthorn has been amazingly floriferous in Essex this year”, we have another picture backing up the point. She hasn’t given us details, but Mandy Aylett has shared her own image of blackthorn in the county. Thank you, Mandy! Read more >
Revised Lower Thames Crossing plans miss Easter target date
Monday 19 April 2021
Highways England has failed to hit its own target in resubmitting plans for the Lower Thames Crossing. In November, the government agency withdrew its application for a Development Consent Order to build the Lower Thames Crossing, saying it would put in revised plans to the Planning Inspectorate by Easter. However, they have yet to appear, […] Read more >
Blackthorn… if only the weather was just as glorious!
Monday 12 April 2021
It’s one of the joys of spring – and CPRE Essex’s John Bloxsome has captured the glory of blackthorn with these two delightful images of a particularly tall stand of it in our county. John tells us: “The blackthorn has been amazingly floriferous in Essex this year – and we have been having the blackthorn […] Read more >
Solar farms: CPRE Essex policy statement
Saturday 10 April 2021
Solar farms: a thorny subject for so many. They are trumpeted by some as laudable examples of green, renewable energy provision, while others highlight their undoubted impact on the landscape. As the countryside charity, CPRE Essex has addressed both sides of the debate and put together its own policy statement on the matter. There can […] Read more >