Posted by cpre in CPRE
on Mar 13th, 2019
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...
Posted by cpre in CPRE
on Mar 2nd, 2019
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...
Posted by cpre in Mineral Extraction, Woodland
on Sep 4th, 2018
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...
Posted by cpre in CPRE, Hands off the Green Belt
on Sep 1st, 2018
The Autumn 2018 edition of SURREY VOICE, the magazine of the Surrey Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is out now, with all the latest news and commentary on the fight to save Surrey’s countryside.
Posted by cpre in Housing Development, Local Government
on Jul 16th, 2018
CPRE Surrey has welcomed the High Court decision to proceed with a judicial review of the Waverley Local Plan. CPRE Surrey and the Protect-Our-Waverley campaign group both challenged Waverley Borough Council’s decision to adopt a Local Plan with inflated housing figures imposed on it by Planning Inspector Jonathan Bore, supposedly to meet “unmet housing need” from Woking Borough Council. The additional 1,500 new houses would mostly have to be built in “protected” countryside.
Posted by cpre in CPRE, Hands off the Green Belt
on Jun 12th, 2018
The Summer 2018 issue of Surrey Voice, the CPRE Surrey members’ magazine, is out now – with all the latest news and views about CPRE’s work to defend Surrey’s countryside and Green Belt.
Posted by cpre in Featured Articles, Wildlife and Nature Conservation
on Apr 17th, 2018
The Court of Appeal has ruled against NHS Property Services trying to prevent a cherished area of greenspace in Leatherhead – Leach Grove Wood – being given statutory protection from development. Local resident Flip Cargill and the Leatherhead Residents Association, supported by the Surrey Branch of CPRE, applied several years ago to register the common land close to Leatherhead Hospital as a ‘village green’ under the Commons Act 2006. Surrey County Council (SCC) agreed to register it, giving Leach Grove Wood protection under the law.
Posted by cpre in Hands off the Green Belt, Housing Development, Local Government
on Apr 10th, 2018
The Surrey Branch of CPRE is challenging the adoption by Waverley Borough Council of its Local Plan: Part 1 Strategic Policies and Sites. CPRE Surrey has launched this challenge on the grounds that the Planning Inspector who examined the draft Plan, Mr Jonathan Bore, “failed to take into account the environmental constraints and specifically the harm to the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the London Metropolitan Green Belt”.
