Tom Fyans
Huge campaign win as government sets hedgerow targets
Thursday 9 March 2023
We’re celebrating a big step forward for nature and climate as the government has finally announced an ambitious target to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerows by 2037, and 45,000 miles of hedgerows by 2050, under the new Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. In a landmark decision for hedgerows, meeting the target goes some way […] Read more >
Campaign success as planning changes give more power to communities
Thursday 8 December 2022
The government has set out new measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill that give communities more say on local housing targets, as well as encouraging brownfield development and controlling short-term lets. Commenting on the government’s vital changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, Tom Fyans, interim chief executive of CPRE, the countryside […] Read more >
Unleash potential of rooftop solar to tackle energy crisis, CPRE urges Chancellor
Thursday 17 November 2022
Changes to planning policy could turbocharge the rollout of solar energy and help reduce reliance on gas at little or no cost to the public purse, analysis by CPRE, the countryside charity, has shown. Ahead of the Autumn Statement, CPRE is urging the government to target rooftops, car parks and brownfield sites for a rapid […] Read more >
‘Giving fracking the green light is a hideous mistake’: CPRE reacts to PM
Friday 9 September 2022
CPRE has slated the new Prime Minister’s announcement that she will reverse the UK ban on fracking. Liz Truss confirmed her commitment to ending the moratorium on fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, this week when revealing her plans to tackle rising energy bills. The news sparked incredulity in many quarters, including at CPRE, the countryside charity. […] Read more >
‘A victory for common sense’: CPRE responds to reported rethink of planning reform
Saturday 11 September 2021
It has been reported in The Times this morning (Saturday, September 11) that the government is planning to abandon substantial parts of its planning proposals, including the zonal planning system. If correct, this will be a huge win for the CPRE planning campaign, so fingers crossed! Commenting on the reported rethink of the planning proposals, […] Read more >
‘We have a Planning Bill that looks set to take us back to a deregulated dark age of development’
Monday 17 May 2021
The Planning Bill highlighted in last week’s Queen’s Speech (Tuesday, May 11) has been blasted by CPRE, the countryside charity. Tom Fyans, CPRE campaigns and policy director, said: “The Planning Bill looks set to prioritise developers’ needs over local communities, provide no new environmental safeguards and could slow the delivery of genuinely affordable homes in […] Read more >
Don’t forget the nature: CPRE responds to 10-point environment plan
Wednesday 18 November 2020
CPRE, the countryside charity, says the prime minister’s “green industrial revolution” aimed at tackling climate change and creating jobs in such industries as nuclear energy, has missed the vital role played by nature. Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan was announced yesterday (Tuesday, November 17), with the headline statement being that cars and vans powered wholly by […] Read more >
‘Pitiful’ on carbon-neutral new homes and failing to build trust in the planning system: CPRE responds to ‘once-in-a-generation’ reforms
Thursday 6 August 2020
CPRE, the countryside charity, has launched a wide-ranging criticism of “once-in-a-generation reforms” to the country’s planning system proposed by the government today (Thursday, August 6). Described as “landmark reforms to speed up and modernise the planning system and get the country building”, the changes proposed in the Planning for the Future White Paper fail to […] Read more >
How the Chancellor’s ‘mini-Budget’ missed the mark on transport and housing
Friday 31 July 2020
CPRE, the countryside charity, has said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s ‘mini-Budget’ missed the mark on transport and housing. The Chancellor had been aiming to revive the economy through his A Plan for Jobs mini-Budget, announced earlier this month, but Tom Fyans, CPRE campaigns and policy director, said: “While we have seen promising starts on energy […] Read more >
CPRE slates government’s proposals for planning deregulation
Tuesday 14 July 2020
The government’s proposed planning reforms could amount to “the exact opposite of building back better”, CPRE believes. Downing Street says its proposals are “the most radical reforms to our planning system since the Second World War”. Amended planning rules, due to be in place by September, would permit: Developers to “demolish and rebuild” vacant and […] Read more >