Save our countryside from overdevelopment
The countryside is increasingly at risk from inappropriate development caused by inadequate planning policies, a weakening of local democracy and a focus on short-term economic growth regardless of the environmental consequences.
The Government’s localism agenda has been seriously undermined and I am deeply concerned local views are being ignored to the detriment of valued and irreplaceable countryside. While I recognise the need for economic prosperity, should this be pursued at any cost to the environment?
If we don’t stand up for the countryside we will lose it. I encourage readers to sign the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s new charter, which demands better protection for the countryside, a fair say for local communities in planning for the places where they live and work, and more housing in the right places. You can find it at www.saveourcountryside.org.uk.
Mr John Butler,
Woodlands Park, Whalley