CPRE facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
CPRE, the countryside charity

Abbreviation	CPRE
Predecessor	Council for the Preservation of Rural England
Formation	1926
Founder	Sir Patrick Abercrombie
Type	Charitable organisation
Registration no.	Registered charity number: 1089685
Headquarters	15-21 Provost St, London N1 7NH
Region	England
Membership	40,000
Patron	Charles III
President	Mary-Ann Ochota
Chair	Simon Murray
Chief Executive	Roger Mortlock
Staff	40
Volunteers	1,200

CPRE, The Countryside Charity, is a charity in England that works to protect and improve the English countryside. It has over 40,000 members and supporters. The group was started in 1926 by Sir Patrick Abercrombie.

At the time, cities were growing quickly and spreading into the countryside. This is often called urban sprawl. CPRE was created to help manage this growth and protect England's beautiful rural areas.

The charity believes the countryside is very important for the nation's environment, economy, and society. It researches problems facing the countryside and suggests solutions. CPRE then works to convince the public and the government to support its ideas for a "sustainable future."

The History of CPRE

CPRE was founded in 1926 after Sir Patrick Abercrombie wrote about the need to protect rural England. The first meeting was held in London and was attended by important people, including the future prime minister, Neville Chamberlain. Groups like the National Trust and the Women's Institute helped to get it started.

Early Goals and Successes

In its early years, CPRE had several main goals:

• To plan how the countryside is used.
• To create National Parks for people in cities to enjoy.
• To stop cities from spreading out in an unplanned way.
• To create Green Belts, which are areas of open land around cities.

CPRE's work helped lead to important laws, like the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 and the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. These laws created the first National Parks and gave the public more access to the countryside.

Protecting the Landscape

Over the decades, CPRE has fought to protect the landscape from new developments.

• In the 1950s, when the M1 motorway was being built, CPRE successfully campaigned to have the road built in a cutting (a lowered channel) to protect Charnwood Forest.
• In the 1960s, it fought to protect the Berkshire Downs when the M4 was built.
• In the 1980s, CPRE helped create Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) to protect more special landscapes. It also helped stop tax breaks that encouraged planting huge, dense forests of a single type of tree in upland areas.

Modern Campaigns

In the 1990s, CPRE's long campaign to protect hedgerows finally succeeded when a new law was passed in 1997.

The charity also began to map "tranquillity" in the countryside. These maps show areas that are not disturbed by noise, buildings, or light pollution. This helps people see how much quiet countryside is being lost.

What CPRE Campaigns For

CPRE runs several campaigns to protect and improve the English countryside. These campaigns focus on key issues facing rural areas today.

Dark Skies and Starry Nights

CPRE wants to reduce light pollution, which is the glow from streetlights and buildings that makes it hard to see the stars. In 2013, it launched Star Count, a project where people across the country count the stars they can see. This helps create a map of light pollution and shows where the darkest skies are. The charity also encourages local councils to use smarter street lighting that saves energy and reduces light pollution.

Building in the Right Places

CPRE believes that new homes and buildings should be built in a way that doesn't harm the countryside.

• Protecting the Green Belt: CPRE works hard to protect the Green Belts around towns and cities.
• Using Brownfield Land: The charity pushes for new homes to be built on brownfield land. This is land that has been used before, like old factory sites, instead of building on fresh countryside, known as greenfield land.
• Less Clutter: CPRE campaigns to reduce the number of unnecessary road signs and billboards that can make the countryside look messy.

Fighting the Climate Emergency

CPRE believes that protecting the countryside is a key part of tackling climate change.

• Sustainable Transport: The charity has challenged big transport projects like the HS2 high-speed railway. It wants to make sure these projects do as little damage to the countryside as possible.
• Local Food: CPRE supports local farms and food businesses. It believes that having food grown closer to where people live is better for the environment.
• Opposing Fracking: The charity campaigns against large-scale fracking (a method of getting gas from the ground), which it says can damage the countryside.

Keeping England Tidy

CPRE has long campaigned against litter. In 2018, after a 10-year campaign by CPRE and others, the government announced it was looking at a deposit return scheme for drink containers. This means people would pay a small extra amount for a drink, which they get back when they return the empty bottle or can for recycling.

How CPRE is Organised

CPRE has a national office in London, as well as offices in different regions of England.

There are also local CPRE branches in every county in England and over 200 smaller local groups. Most of these branches are their own independent charities. This means that CPRE has people working to protect the countryside at a national, regional, and local level.

Criticisms of CPRE

Because CPRE has strong views on how the countryside should be used, not everyone agrees with them. There are many different needs for land in England, including for housing, farming, and nature. This can lead to disagreements.

Some critics say CPRE has a "Not In My Back Yard" (or NIMBY) attitude. They suggest that CPRE members want to stop new houses from being built in the countryside, which could make it harder for people to find affordable homes. CPRE replies that it supports building affordable homes for local people, but that they should be built in the right places.

Others have accused the charity of exaggerating the threat to the countryside. For example, some groups say that only a small part of England is actually built on. However, CPRE points to official figures showing that Green Belt land is still being lost to development each year.

There have also been debates about CPRE's positions. For example, in the past, some people criticised CPRE for opposing wind farms but not doing enough to oppose coal mining. Since then, CPRE has started to campaign more against this type of mining.

Important People at CPRE

• Patron: King Charles III
• President: Mary-Ann Ochota (since 2024)
• Chair: Simon Murray
• Chief Executive: Roger Mortlock

Many famous people have been president of CPRE in the past, including the author Bill Bryson and the film producer Lord Puttnam.

See also

• Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales