CPRE Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Campaigns

We campaign for positive solutions to protect, enhance and ensure the long-term future of our precious Cambridgeshire and Peterborough countryside.

Here are the most recent posts for each key area.


Countryside

We value our countryside for its beauty, diversity and tranquillity. We want a countryside that is used and valued by everyone, and where people are in tune with the environment and aware of their impact on it.

Huge campaign win as government sets hedgerow targets

"Hedgerow near Waterloo Farm, Huntingdon" by Richard Humphrey is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

CPRE is celebrating a big step forward for nature and climate as the government…


Star Count 2023 – 17-24 February

Friends looking up at night sky- copyright Jess Hurd

Star Count 2023. Image copyright Jess Hurd.

Star Count, CPRE’s annual citizen science project, takes place between 17-24 February 2023.. Last year, thousands of you took part…


Legislation

We campaign for evidence-based, transparent and sound legislation, laws and planning processes that support and protect our countryside and environment.

Major campaign success as planning changes give more power to communities

Building site: Cambridge UK by Prisoner 5413 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

"Building site: Cambridge UK" by Prisoner 5413 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

The government has set out new measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which gives communities more say on…


It’s official: the government is U-turning on planning system changes

In a seismic success for CPRE, the countryside charity and planning campaigners across the country, it’s now confirmed: the voices of local people will remain central to the planning system.

We’ve campaigned about the damaging proposals that the government had put forward to change the planning system since they were announced, warning that the changes would cut out the voices of local people…


Proposed incinerator at Waterbeach goes to appeal

The fight continues over a possible 80-metre high chimney stack at a fen-edge village and its effect on the local community, environment, heritage assets and landscape.


Housing and Planning

Good land-use planning is the unsung hero of environmental protection. Good planning can help slow the growth in road traffic, encourage urban regeneration, curb urban sprawl, protect the beauty and tranquillity of the countryside and safeguard wildlife habitats.

CPRE report shows that Brownfield land for 1.2 million homes is lying dormant

Brownfield Land by russelljsmith is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Brownfield land by russelljsmith is licensed under CC BY 2.0

As the affordable housing crisis deepens, CPRE’s 2022 state of brownfield report has found – yet again – that the number of new homes that could be built on brownfield…


Appeal to build 70 houses in Haddenham dismissed

File:UK Haddenham (Cambridgeshire) (SideA).jpg

File:UK Haddenham (Cambridgeshire) (SideA).jpg" by Uksignpix is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

We are pleased to report that an application for 70 homes in the village of Haddenham,…


‘Deregulation on steroids’ – CPRE’s response to planned investment zones

Building Site

"Building Site" by Pete Ashton is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the new chancellor, has announced plans which strip away the protection of the planning system from swathes of the countryside. These new ‘investment zones’ will threaten many of our most loved landscapes.   …


Transport

How we travel and plan transport impacts on the environment and our quality of life. We need to plan our transport so that new housing, jobs, shops and services are close to public transport or within easy walking or cycling distance.

Better Ways for Busways! (BW4B!) petition

The BWB4 campaign group has launched a petition to save the South East Cambridgeshire countryside. The CSETS busway which is being proposed by the unelected Greater Cambridge Partnership will create a 5 mile-long road for buses through the countryside near Wandlebury. The busway would:

  • Build over the lower slopes of the Gog Magog Hills.
  • Destroy the habitat of Water Voles…


Who’s Who in the Oxford Cambridge Arc?

The OxCam Arc is a large multi-regional project with lots of bodies involved in its development. In this explainer, CPRE Bedfordshire delves into who’s who, decodes all those abbreviations and outlines the roles they play https://www.cprebeds.org.uk/stories/whos-who-in-the-oxford-cambridge-arc/


Transport Action Network A428 Challenge update

Transport Action Network now have a date – 30 March - for their permission hearing at the High Court; this will determine whether they can have a full hearing later in the year.  They were called to give oral evidence to the House of Commons Transport Committee's inquiry on strategic road investment.  For further information visit  


Energy and Climate Change

Our goal is to avoid the damage to the countryside by encouraging a reduction in overall consumption and being more efficient with what we use.

CPRE Rooftop Revolution solar energy campaign

Three pigeons on a roof by Dunnock_D

"Three pigeons on a roof" by Dunnock_D is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

CPRE is running a campaign to urge the government to fully realise the potential of solar on rooftops. A major new CPRE report has found that over half the solar panels needed…


Ten ways that you and your local community can make a difference to climate change

Hearing about climate change can feel daunting – but CPRE has some ideas for small actions that countryside communities can take that can add up to a big difference.  Click here https://www.cpre.org.uk/discover/ten-ways-that-your-rural-community-can-tackle-climate-change/ to…


Fracking Ban reinstated by new PM Rishi Sunak

Just 34 days after the moratorium was lifted by former PM Liz Truss, the ban on fracking has been reinstated by Rishi Sunak.

CPRE has long campaigned against fracking, and acted quickly to ensure that local voices were heard when the ban on fracking was lifted. Our petition campaign garnered the support of over 80,000 people, and sent a clear message to government: local communities didn’t…