The Government’s threat to the countryside – a CPRE Wiltshire view
The new Labour Government has made several well-publicised proposals that would have a disastrous impact on the British countryside.
While CPRE accepts the need for significantly more housing and clean generation of electrical power, we believe that the Government is taking steps without adequate consideration of the wider consequences and of the viable alternatives. Once lost, it is inconceivable that our countryside will be regained in its original form.
At national level, CPRE is campaigning strongly to the Government, its relevant Departments of State and to MPs, asking them to properly consider the implications of the many proposals before swathes of countryside are lost. Valuable farmland is needed for local production of food. Surface water on floodplains and water courses both need to be controlled. Rapidly declining wildlife habitats need to be conserved. CPRE Wiltshire, like other country branches, is heavily involved in supporting these campaigns. Here are some of our views.
Housing
Research by CPRE has identified brownfield sites throughout the country which could accommodate ONE MILLION HOMES. Any future building should be confined to these neglected areas which already offer the services and amenities needed for housing. The infrastructure is already there. Such areas exist in the cities and most towns in Wiltshire. For example, it has taken many years for the former Bowyers site in the centre of Trowbridge to be approved for development. At last, up to 284 dwellings together with a new convenience store and commercial floor space are now due to be built.
An advantage of this approach is that such building can re-generate these areas and enhance the communities that already exist in such centres. Experience has shown that it is extremely difficult to create new communities from scratch, as has been attempted by building further and further away from the centres. Also, by building in existing urban areas, there is less need for private car transport: more people can use public transport, making it more economically viable, and they can use bicycles or walk to nearby facilities.
Farming
Building on greenfield land removes forever the valuable farmland which is also open countryside. This is vital to people and wildlife for future survival. Importing food generates greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, which is the greatest threat to our future environment. The government should be supporting farmers in every way they can, with subsidies and financial incentives especially for regenerative and organic farming. More and more evidence is appearing every day of the carcinogenic effects that chemical farming has upon both agricultural workers and those who consume the food it produces. This also contributes to the appalling pollution of our streams and rivers, leading to the destruction of the plant and animal life in them. In Wiltshire we have many chalk streams and rivers that are affected in this way.
Solar Power
The Government’s plans to cover vast areas of the countryside with solar farms lead to a further reduction of open countryside and valuable farmland. Wiltshire is one of the English counties with the highest number of solar farms, and their number is growing. There are now proposals for huge ones such as the 2000 acre Lime Down solar park near Malmesbury. CPRE has been campaigning for several years to install solar panels on rooftops. This not only reduces the loss of land but generates power where it is needed. These should be either on all new-build houses, warehouses and factories, or retro-fitted on old stock. In Wiltshire we have many new housing estates where solar panels are retrospectively and expensively installed on a few houses rather than being installed much more cheaply during construction. We also have many warehouses which could carry large areas of solar panelling provided that they are designed or reinforced to do so. Another benefit is that this approach reduces the need for expensive improvements to the national grid to carry power from the points of generation to the points of use.
Wind Power
The Government also proposes to make a large increase in the number of wind farms on the countryside. It is difficult to believe that these farms enhance the countryside. Their visibility spreads for miles. Fortunately Wiltshire has very few wind generators but the new proposals could easily change this. If we must have wind power as a source of electricity then the wind farms must be out to sea where they are less intrusive and do not take up valuable farmland.
