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, and Matt Thomson, Head of Planning at 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.

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...

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...

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...

CPRE Surrey has expressed “serious concerns” about the potential impact of proposed new Heathrow flight paths on the environment of North Surrey, particularly on Green Belt countryside. CPRE Surrey’s Tim Murphy says: “The consequences of an expanded Heathrow will be that North Surrey residents and visitors will be subject to far more flights at much lower altitudes than they experience at present. For example, here in Epsom & Ewell, the constituency of Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, we will experience up to 47 additional flights per hour for arrivals and an additional 17 flights per hour for...

The Surrey Branch of CPRE has welcomed Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s decision not to renew the licence for Europa Oil & Gas to drill for oil on Leith Hill in the heart of the Surrey Hills AONB. The decision to block oil drilling at the site was made to protect Leith Hill’s precious ancient woodland. CPRE Surrey Director Andy Smith said: “We welcome Michael Gove’s decision and hope this not only stops Europa from ravaging Leith Hill but also leads to the termination of all oil exploration in the Surrey Hills and the Weald. It is disgraceful that Europa ever had...