Campaigns
Campaigning to Protect Rural England since 1926
Founded as The Council to Preserve Rural England – an alliance of all the influential individuals and groups with an interest in rural affairs, including Prime Ministers, landed aristocrats, professional associations and environmental campaigners – CPRE changed over time into The Campaign to Protect Rural England. This change reflects the difference between an establishment united in concern for the countryside, in 1926, to a widespread concern that the countryside is at risk from poor public policy, in 2026.
Today, CPRE nationally focuses on four main themes:
Coherent Land Use Strategy
The need for a coherent land use strategy – the right development in the right places
Sustainable & Affordable Housing
Sustainably located and affordable housing – the right homes in the right places, at the right price and with the right infrastructure to sustain communities
Responsible Renewable Energy
Renewables done well – solar on rooftops, not ground-based megasolar
Protecting the Countryside & Green Belts
Preserving the countryside and Green Belts – the importance of the ‘countryside next door’
key campaigns
In Devon we reflect these goals with a focus on five main campaigning areas:
democratic planning
Ensuring that the rights of people and communities to determine how development affects them are not removed or ‘reorganised’ away from them.
grass not glass
Opposing the sacrifice of productive land and valuable landscapes to proliferating solar arrays.
megabatteries
Opposing the ever-increasing installation of huge battery containers with uncertain risk profiles near rural communities.
right homes, right place
Working with planners to achieve housing development that meets local needs while protecting the countryside.
lost landscapes
Working to minimise landscape intrusions, from wind turbines to telecoms masts, anaerobic digesters to landfill sites.