Why we love Surrey’s local green spaces

Surrey has more Green Belt countryside than any other county. Over 80 per cent of Surrey falls within the London Metropolitan Green Belt, which was created in 1955 to prevent urban sprawl and to provide a lung for the nation’s capital city. The existence of this Green Belt has done more than anything else to keep Surrey green and pleasant. But Surrey is under increasing pressure to build more houses, with fields and farmland being offered up for development. The Green Belt is being weakened.

CPRE campaigns to protect precious green spaces, for the sake of present and future generations. Surrey’s Green Belt countryside is vital for public health and well-being, for nature and biodiversity, for food-production, and to reduce climate-change. That’s why CPRE plays an active role in the planning process, to ensure that green spaces are not sacrificed unnecessarily. We contribute to public consultations and respond to planning applications that affect the Green Belt, helping to shape local plans on development.

It’s also why we provide the secretariat for the London Green Belt Council and contribute to the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for London’s Green Belt, as well as working with a wide range of environmental groups and organisations. CPRE Surrey is highly regarded for the quality of its research and commentary on all aspects of Green Belt policy.