Campaign to Protect Rural England
| Abbreviation | CPRE |
|---|---|
| Motto | Standing up for your countryside |
| Predecessor | Council for the Preservation of Rural England |
| Formation | 1926 |
| Founder | Sir Patrick Abercrombie |
| Type | Charitable organization |
| Registration no. | Registered charity number: 1089685 |
| Headquarters | 5-11 Lavington Street, London, SE1 0NZ |
|
Region
|
United Kingdom |
|
Membership
|
60000 |
|
Patron
|
Elizabeth II |
|
President
|
Emma Bridgewater |
|
Chairman
|
Peter Waine |
|
Chief Executive
|
Shaun Spiers |
|
Staff
|
40 |
|
Volunteers
|
1200 |
| Website | http://www.cpre.org.uk |
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is a registered charity with over 60,000 members and supporters. Formed in 1926 by Sir Patrick Abercrombie to limit urban sprawl and ribbon development, the CPRE (until the 1960s the Council for the Preservation of Rural England and from then until 2003 the Council for the Protection of Rural England) claims to be one of the longest running environmental groups. CPRE campaigns for a "sustainable future" for the English countryside. They state it is "a vital but undervalued environmental, economic and social asset to the nation." They aim to "highlight threats and promote positive solutions." They campaign using their own research to lobby the public and all levels of government.
CPRE has influenced public policy relating to town and country planning in England, most notably in the formation of the National Parks and AONBs in 1949, and of green belts in 1955.
It claims some credit for the slow shift of agricultural policies across Europe away from a price-support philosophy to one of environmental stewardship, a policy shift begun in England. Campaigns against noise and light pollution have been pursued over recent years, and CPRE is now focusing on "tranquillity" as a key aspect of the countryside which CPRE wants to see protected in England’s planning policies.
CPRE joined the 10:10 project in 2010 in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint. One year later they announced that they had reduced their carbon emissions (according to 10:10's criteria) by 12%.
Critics characterise CPRE as
In December 2008 George Monbiot of The Guardian interviewed CPRE head, Shaun Spiers, about the organisation's opposition to wind farms but not opencast coal mines. George Monbiot asked why he couldn't find any opposition of the CPRE to surface coal mining over the past five years, and pointed out that the negative effects that coal mines cause by removing the soil from large areas are much greater than the negative effects wind energy might have on the countryside. As a result of this, in 2010 campaigning against inappropriate mineral extraction by opencast mining started to be featured under the 'Climate change and natural resources' section of CPRE's website.
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Wikipedia