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Nature and landscapes

Surrey has some of the most beautiful countryside in England. We are fortunate to have the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covering a large part of our county.

That’s why we campaign for better facilities for walkers, cyclists and riders, and for improved public transport, so that more people can access this glorious landscape in an environmentally sustainable way. We are working with Surrey Hills AONB and parish councils to retain the rural character of Surrey’s villages.

We promote local agriculture and food production as we recognise that a thriving farming community is vital to the long-term sustainability of our countryside. But a clean, green environment is vital so we make the case at all times for clean air and water, rural tranquillity, and true darkness at night, aiming to reduce harmful pollution, noise and light disturbance. CPRE is active in promoting nature conservation, wildlife protection and biodiversity, and we’re campaigning alongside other environmental groups to protect Surrey’s countryside from harmful schemes such as oil drilling.

 

Protect the beautiful Surrey countryside
By Julia Green

 

How would you feel if the local countryside you enjoy disappeared forever? If you answered unhappy, angry, powerless, then please sign this petition.

For me, nature was like a tonic for the soul during lockdown. Like many of you, I enjoy being outdoors. It gives me space and I always feel more peaceful and energised, less stressed. I am telling you this because the countryside next door to you is under threat. Help us to preserve it for you, your children and generations to come.

We need your help to enhance and strengthen the protection of some of Surrey’s most beautiful countryside. Natural England – the Government body responsible for the natural environment – will soon be deciding whether or not to redraw the boundaries of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

If we win, and the review concludes that the AONB should be expanded (as per the recommendations), more of the precious green spaces you and thousands of others enjoy will be preserved forever. But if we don’t act now, those special landscapes could be concreted over by the developers and lost forever. Countryside is precious. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Please take action now and sign the petition to persuade Natural England to undertake the AONB review as a matter of urgency, and to extend the boundary to include the surrounding countryside including the Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV). Thank you very much.

 

For more information about the Surrey Hills AONB and the recommendations for expansion of the protected countryside, please visit www.surreyhills.org/boundary-review and don’t forget to sign our petition at www.change.org/p/natural-england-protect-the-beauty-of-the-surrey-countryside-before-its-gone-forever