Blog
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 >
Staycation with a Bicycle… on to the Blackwater
Wednesday 7 July 2021
Late May 2021 In the second of her blogs, Christine Knight reports back from the remote Dengie peninsula, where she and husband David took their bikes in late spring. Having both been born and bred in Essex, there are not many tourist spots or towns that we haven’t visited over the years, but, being the […] Read more >
Staycation with a Bicycle
Thursday 1 July 2021
Christine Knight and husband David, CPRE Essex chairman, have dusted down the cobwebs and taken to their bicycles as they reacquaint themselves with the glories of the Essex countryside. Here, in the first of a series of articles or ‘blogs’, Christine tells how the couple ventured to the idyllic borderlands shared with Suffolk. May […] Read more >
Is this house well designed?
Thursday 11 March 2021
CPRE planner Richard Thompson asks whether a welcome policy aspiration risks becoming just another developer-led tick-box exercise Ask the public whether the above house is well designed and they are most likely to say yes, it is. Ask the same question to an architect, they are much more likely to dislike iti. So who is […] Read more >
We jingled, we didn’t mingle and we all had the most wonderful time!
Thursday 17 December 2020
David Knight, CPRE Essex chairman, joined some 500 others for the hugely successful Essex Farmers’ Drive-in Carol Service in Chelmsford Advertised as Jingling without the Mingling and held at Chelmsford City Racecourse on a chilly, grey and wet December afternoon, the brilliantly-organised Essex Farmers’ Drive-in Carol Service was an absolute pleasure. Led by Rev Canon Janet […] Read more >
Planning system should recognise – and compensate – efforts of those fighting for our countryside
Thursday 26 November 2020
David Knight, CPRE Essex chairman, calls for donations by land agents to charities when they win planning permission for development proposals. Perhaps such a scheme would make them think twice before making speculative applications… Since becoming chairman of CPRE Essex, one of the things that never fails to impress me is the dedication and professionalism […] Read more >
Goldsmith Street in Norwich: the way forward for Essex
Monday 28 October 2019
David Knight, CPRE Essex chairman, reports from a visit to Norwich, where a new development convinced him things could be done so much better as we address the ever-present issue of housing In recent months, I have viewed endless new housing estates, consisting of faceless four- and five-bedroom detached box-like buildings, plonked in a field, […] Read more >
High Sheriff of Essex: why I’m targeting the menace of litter
Wednesday 11 September 2019
Dr James Bettley, High Sheriff of Essex, has chosen to make litter one of the themes of his year in office. Here he writes for CPRE Essex on why he feels so strongly about the issue and tells how he has been joining volunteers across the county as they tackle a seemingly ever-present scourge. For […] Read more >
The digital world of crop production
Monday 15 July 2019
David Knight, chairman of CPRE Essex, reports from a fascinating day learning about agricultural innovation At this time of year, it is difficult to walk, cycle or motor through the countryside without noticing the varied greens and quickly approaching gold of the cereal crops growing in the fields. However, how much do we all know […] Read more >
Appreciating our countryside
Wednesday 10 July 2019
Delegates at last month’s CPRE conference in Birmingham were urged to encourage more people to engage with the countryside. Here CPRE Essex vice-chairman Tricia Moxey does her bit and extols the joys of rural walking, highlighting the benefits it can bring to our overall well-being. Recent publicity has been encouraging us to spend time outside […] Read more >