Sunak’s ‘moment of action’ is not enough

CPRE welcomes Rishi Sunak’s commitment to create 34 new landscape recovery projects in England.

If these are implemented properly they will be good news for the landscape-scale conservation we desperately need. However, we are clear that Sunak’s ‘moment of action’ for nature in the UK does not go far enough.

Promises of a new National Park may grab the headlines but they will do little to help the millions of people who struggle to access the countryside.

We need to protect and enhance natural landscapes – including Green Belts, Local Green Spaces and potential ‘regional parks’ – near to where people live.

This is the only way to ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits of a close connection with nature and the countryside.

Today’s announcements also make no mention of the land-use framework the government committed to delivering in 2023 – and which is required to prevent our finest landscapes and agricultural land being lost to development and flooding.

We want to see a land-use framework that sets a positive long-term vision, integrating local and national policymaking to deliver net zero and other vital environmental goals.

The government’s commitment to give a further £15 million to support existing National Parks and National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in England won’t go far when divided between all 44 of these protected areas.

In its response to the independent Landscapes Review, the government today announced that it will not give National Landscape teams a statutory right to be consulted on significant planning applications that affect the areas they represent, something CPRE has been calling for since 2018.

Roger Mortlock CPRE chief executive