CPRE – The Countryside Charity
100 years of standing up for the countryside
For a century, CPRE has shaped the countryside we know today. From campaigning for the first Green Belts and National Parks to protecting hedgerows and dark skies and stopping fracking.
We may be focused on the future, but here are a small selection of our successes from our history:
1926 The Council for Preserving Rural England forms, uniting groups such as the National Trust, Women’s Institute and the Commons Preservation Society to protect our countryside.
1935. CPRE launches a national countryside warden scheme with the Scouts and Guides to promote responsible behaviour in the countryside. This laid the foundation of what became the Country Code.
1949 After CPRE’s 20 year campaign, National Parks are established to conserve and enhance their beauty and provide recreational opportunities for the public.
1955 A government circular, in response to CPRE pressure, accepts the need for strongly protected Green Belts around England’s largest towns and cities.
1963 A long CPRE campaign succeeds in convincing the Government that England’s coastline needs protecting as much as our inland countryside.
1970 The CPRE launches a hedgerow campaign after research shows the UK loses 10,000 miles a year. Laws to protect our best hedgerows come in force in 1997.
1981 CPRE saves Halvergate Marshes from arable land conversion. This leads to the Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme, which supports wildlife and landscape-friendly farming.
1996 Our report finds over 6 billion bottles in production each year. This with rising numbers of non-returnable plastic ones – worsening the litter problem.
2000 CPRE campaigning shifts housing policy from low-density sprawl to prioritising brownfield land for new homes, before building on greenfield.
2015 The 5p charge for plastic carrier bags, introduced following a campaign led to CPRE, succeeds in an 86% fall in the number of disposable bags handed out.
This information was taken from the CPRE website, which can be found here: cpre.org.uk
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