We’ve mapped tranquillity – now let’s make sure we don’t lose it

23 October 2006

Countryside campaigners CPRE [1] today (Monday) unveil a revolutionary new way of measuring and mapping one of the most important things the countryside gives us all: tranquillity.

Now we’re challenging everyone to use our striking, colourful new map of England [2], along with the new measurement method, and act to retain this precious resource from further massive erosion. Tranquillity is one of the most sought after, hard to pin down ingredients of a good qualify of life.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

E-copies of CPRE’s national and regional tranquillity maps plus this press release are available at: www.cpre.org.uk/news-releases/media-resources/tranquillity/

Our new map shows, in detail and across the whole of England, how likely the local surroundings are to make a visitor feel tranquil. The spectrum of colours ranges from deep red – within towns and cities and along major roads – shading through orange and yellow to a rich green in the most unspoilt areas of deep countryside with big views and little man-made noise.

Finding tranquillity in the countryside matters deeply to people: it contributes to mental and physical health and to quality of life.[3] A new opinion poll commissioned by CPRE shows what people most enjoy and appreciate about the countryside is ‘peace and quiet’.[4] And most people, wherever they live, say rural tranquillity is very important to them – and fear it is under threat.[5]

Where exactly is the most tranquil place in England? We know but we’re not telling. However, we’re running a competition on our website – www.cpre.org.uk – inviting people to guess the spot. If the winner identifies the exact location, she or he will be sworn to secrecy.

Our new map reveals that England’s most tranquil region is the North East, and the most tranquil county is Northumberland followed by Cumbria and North Yorkshire. The least tranquil region is London and the South East [6] and the least tranquil county is Surrey, followed by Cheshire and Hertfordshire (third from bottom).

CPRE Chief Executive Shaun Spiers says: ‘Tranquillity is one of the greatest benefits we get from the countryside. But we know that tranquil areas are shrinking and fragmenting because of the remorseless growth in road traffic and flying and the gradual spread of towns, cities and infrastructure into the countryside.

‘Our new mapping method gives us a practical, reliable method of showing where tranquil places can still be found. This is the start of our campaign to persuade national and local government, planners, developers, business, and public bodies to start using it, in order to safeguard tranquil areas for the future and even enhance them.

‘And we want people to use our new maps to campaign for tranquillity in their local countryside.

‘This isn’t just about protecting England’s few big remaining areas of deep tranquillity in the most remote areas, like Dartmoor, Northumbria and the North Pennines.[6] There are often important relatively tranquil places on our doorstep, such as in the Green Belts surrounding our big towns and cities.’

Although the Government has said it recognises the importance of rural tranquillity to the nation, it has done almost nothing to protect it.[7] CPRE warns that unless it introduces policies to protect tranquillity, there will be further massive shrinkage and fragmentation of tranquil areas through:

• New buildings and infrastructure – a greenfield area of 27 square miles, nearly the size of Leicester, vanishes under bricks, mortar, concrete and asphalt each year, in a country which is already among the world’s most heavily built up.[8]
• Growing traffic and expanding roads. Government forecasts traffic levels will increase by 31% between 2000 and 2015 if current trends continue.[9] Roads slice through tranquil places and their noise spreads far and wide.
• More flights, flight paths and runways. Take-offs and landings more than doubled over the past 20 years. The Government’s 2003 Aviation White Paper signalled a huge increase in air travel and airport development. Passenger numbers were forecast to almost treble over the next 30 years.[10]
• Increased light pollution and spreading sky glow – as fast-growing use of outdoor lighting blots out views of the stars.[11]

To make the new map, researchers from Northumbria and Newcastle Universities [12] first consulted more than 1,300 countryside users and visitors across England on their perceptions – what it was in their surroundings that did, and didn’t, make them feel tranquil. There was a wide diversity of views but most revolved around three themes – landscape qualities, the impact of man-made noises and the presence or absence of lots of people.[13]

The new measurement method takes into account factors contributing to feelings of tranquillity, such as sweeping views of open countryside, and factors detracting from those feelings – like busy roads and large man-made structures intruding into views.

Then, working from these responses, the team employed computer-based techniques and geographical databases to show how likely every part of England is to make a visitor feel tranquil. England’s land mass was divided into squares measuring 500 metres by 500 metres, each given a tranquillity score and colour-coded.

Helen Dunsford, Senior Lecturer in Geographical Information Systems at Northumbria University, said: ‘By talking to people directly, we’ve been able to identify, for the first time, characteristics of the rural landscape that contribute to, and detract from, someone’s feeling of tranquillity.

‘By using that data and Geographical Information Systems technology we have been able to produce a unique map detailing England’s most tranquil areas.’

Shaun Spiers concluded: ‘There’s no time to lose, because tranquillity is being threatened and diminished by a wide range of pressures. We want our pioneering new approach to be widely adopted and further developed. We can all benefit from a bit of peace and quiet and from getting closer to nature.’

CPRE’s new tranquillity campaign is supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

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