CPRE

Description

CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity that stands up for the English countryside and promotes solutions to protect and regenerate it.

It was founded in 1926 by Patrick Abercrombie to limit urban sprawl and ribbon development, originally as the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, and is among the longest-running environmental groups in the UK. It works on issues including nature, food production, housing, and energy infrastructure, arguing that these compete for pressure on a finite amount of land. It campaigns using its own research to influence government at all levels and the public.

Its campaigns are grouped under themes such as dark skies and light pollution, hedgerows, what gets built and where, and the climate emergency, including green belt protection, opencast mining and major infrastructure projects. It helped shape the creation of National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and green belts in England. CPRE has a national office in London and further offices across England’s regions, with branches in each English county and local groups in over 200 districts.