EVENT: CPRE Surrey Star Count 2020 will be launched at Newlands Corner Visitor Centre, Albury, Guildford, at 6.30pm on Friday 21 February, where experts will be on hand to give advice on how to make the most of the opportunity to see the night’s sky. CPRE, the countryside charity, invites everyone to join in with Star Count 2020, a fun and easy way to enjoy the wonders of the universe. By simply counting the number of stars you can see in the Orion constellation between 21 and 28 February, you can help map the best and worst places to see the amazing sight of a star-filled night sky. Throughout...

A report published jointly by CPRE, the London Green Belt Council and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for London’s Green Belt sets out a positive vision for the future of the London Metropolitan Green Belt and provides a series of recommendations to ensure long-term benefits to people and the environment. Download the report here: https://www.cpre.org.uk/resources/a-positive-vision-for-london-s-green-belt/

CPRE Surrey has welcomed the vote by Mole Valley District Council to declare a ‘Climate Emergency’. CPRE said Mole Valley councillors were “right to recognise the urgency of tackling climate change” and must now work with other local authorities across Surrey to put in place more effective environmental protection policies. CPRE Surrey Branch Director Andy Smith said: “We welcome Mole Valley Council’s decision to declare a Climate Emergency in the district. We really are at the emergency stage and the time for talking is over, the time for action is now. Let’s...

The AGM of CPRE Surrey takes place on Saturday 14 September 2019 at Painshill Park, Cobham, from 11.00am to 1.00pm. Speakers include Corinne Pluchino, Chief Executive of the Campaign for National Parks, John Evans of the Dark Skies Matter campaign, and Paul Miner, Head of Strategic Plans and Devolution at National CPRE. Coffee and exhibition from 10.30am. Please register to attend by emailing cpre.surrey@btconnect.com or calling the branch office on 01372 362720. AGM 2019 minutesAGM 2018 Accounts

Guildford’s Local Plan will face a judicial review in the High Court. Permission has been granted by the Court for three claims against Guildford Borough Council – by greenbelt campaigner Julian Cranwell and by two Parish Councils, Ockham and Compton – challenging Guildford Council’s adoption of the Guildford Plan. The judicial review will be on the grounds that the Borough Council agreed a housing requirement of 10,000 new dwellings but nonetheless allocated land for 14,000 houses, failing to show ‘exceptional circumstances’ for the release of greenbelt land to...

Activists from CPRE Surrey were among the thousands who took part in the mass lobby of Parliament on 26 June calling for urgent action on climate change. We also joined colleagues from CPRE Sussex and the campaign groups CAGNE and AirportWatch to launch the ‘Pledge to Fly Less’ campaign.

The new (Spring 2019) issue of CPRE’s magazine Surrey Voice is out now. All members will soon be receiving their copies. If you are not a member and would like to see a sample issue of our magazine please email cpre.surrey@btconnect.com or call our office on 01372 362720. Surrey Voice (Spring 2019) – Now available to download

With the 2019 local council elections just a matter of weeks away, CPRE Surrey is calling on all candidates standing for elected office to endorse the charity’s “Manifesto for Surrey”. Andy Smith, CPRE Surrey Branch Director, explains that the group is “calling on candidates of all political parties and groups to pledge to defend the environment and heritage of our county”. The Manifesto sets out 10 main goals:   Protect all of our precious countryside and open spaces, our Green Belt and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty from inappropriate...