The Live Wire



Press Release

Miliband has spoken – now have your say

12 March 2007

Countryside campaigners CPRE is inviting everyone to blog their vision for the future of England’s countryside following the major speech it hosted today by David Miliband, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

CPRE Chief Executive Shaun Spiers said: ‘England’s countryside is living through extraordinary times, and it’s changing faster than ever before. The coming years represent a period of unprecedented threats and opportunities.

‘David Miliband has made a big and bold speech after spending the day out about in the Green Belt with us, finding out about our concerns and ideas. We’re very grateful for that.

Join the debate on how we use our land at www.cpre.org.uk

‘Most of what he said we’d agree with. But we don’t think all of Government – or, indeed, the Opposition parties – yet grasps how much our countryside matters to people – culturally, psychologically, and for their physical and spiritual health.

‘But David Miliband has clearly marked out some really important issues in talking about the future of how we use our land, that most critical and taken-for-granted resource.’

For CPRE, the key issues are:

  • ensuring our planning system gives people a real chance to influence change for the better while safeguarding important environmental values;
  • making sure the ‘softer’ but all important countryside qualities of beauty, tranquillity and diversity are conserved, as well as the more easily quantifiable outputs such as food, timber, biodiversity and flood protection; and
  • effectively combating and coping with the climate change humanity is causing without destroying valued landscapes.

David Miliband’s speech and CPRE’s initial response is being posted on our website, www.cpre.org.uk. We want as many people as possible to give their views. The Secretary of State and CPRE will sum up what they have learnt from the debate by the end of March.



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