News
Two-thirds of mega solar farms built on productive farmland
Thursday 31 July 2025
England’s most productive farmland is being lost to mega solar farms, CPRE research reveals. As the country scales up on solar power, our analysis shows that large-scale developments are putting vital agricultural land at risk, despite alternatives like solar on rooftops and brownfield sites. Research from our new report reveals that 59 per cent of […] Read more >
CPRE responds to Solar Roadmap
Tuesday 8 July 2025
There’s good news – and campaign wins for CPRE – in the government’s new plan for how solar will play its part in getting us to net zero. But there’s a big gap on solving the problems of big solar on the ground, and that could spell bad news for the countryside if nothing changes. […] Read more >
Gordon leads us into the light
Friday 27 June 2025
“It’s that time of the year,” notes photo wizard Gordon Ridgewell. “The longest days and the most light. “Five churches close to Littlebury use the north side of the building as the main entrance and only at this time of year can one get a nice picture as the sun goes further north. “This church […] Read more >
The church returned to former glories
Thursday 19 June 2025
The Hamlet Church at Duddenhoe End dates to 1610 and is one of just two thatched churches in Essex. In the 1990s it was in poor state of repair, but thankfully extensive renovation has brought it back to the delightful building it is today – as shown in Gordon Ridgewell’s fine photograph. It is one […] Read more >
CPRE responds to Chancellor’s spending review statement
Thursday 12 June 2025
CPRE has responded to the spending review delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. We highlight the urgent need for investment in rural housing and transport: Rural communities need homes that match local incomes More cash for an Affordable Housing Programme is welcome and could make a real difference if it’s directed towards the escalating rural housing […] Read more >
Renewed fears for Middlewick Ranges as potential buyer makes offer
Monday 2 June 2025
The future of Middlewick Ranges seems as uncertain as ever with news that the wildlife-rich site near Colchester could be sold by the Ministry of Defence. There was widespread delight when Colchester City Council recommended the ranges be removed from its Local Plan as a housing site, although in February the Local Plan committee voted […] Read more >
Read the CPRE Essex response to the Land Use Framework consultation
Friday 30 May 2025
The Land Use Framework should prove a vital element in the future of our countryside and in January the government opened a 12-week consultation on how it should develop. CPRE Essex planner Michael Hand has put together an excellent response from our organisation that you can read here. In launching what it called its “‘national […] Read more >
We respond to announcements on small housebuilders and planning committees
Thursday 29 May 2025
The government has announced a consultation on planning committees alongside plans to support smaller and medium-sized housebuilders by ‘streamlining’ planning rules. Paul Miner, CPRE’s head of policy and planning, has responded. Referring to the government’s ‘backing SME builders’ to get Britain building, he said: “We welcome the government’s recognition that small and medium-sized (SME) builders […] Read more >
CPRE publishes new briefing on value of local planning committees
Thursday 22 May 2025
The Planning & Infrastructure Bill is set to curb the role of local planning committees and place new limits on local democracy. A new briefing published by CPRE sets out how government proposals to limit local planning committees will harm democratic oversight without addressing the real causes of the housing crisis. Local planning committees are […] Read more >
Please sign this petition to help protect our Green Belt
Thursday 22 May 2025
Our friends at CPRE Hertfordshire have launched a national petition calling on the government to make urgent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, warning that much of the Green Belt could be lost forever. The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published in December 2024 contains inconsistencies between the NPPF paragraphs on the Green […] Read more >