It’s time to love your countryside 

CPRE Sussex Director’s column written for The Argus, 15 January, 2026.

The countryside is our greatest achievement.  It is a beautiful masterpiece built by centuries of collaboration between people and nature. From meadows and woodlands to rivers and coasts, the countryside connects and sustains us all.   

For a century, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has helped shape the countryside as we know it today – 2026 marks CPRE’s 100th birthday.  From campaigning for the first Green Belts, to protecting hedgerows and dark skies, we have seen that, when the countryside needs a voice, people step up and make change happen. 

Fighting for Sussex 

Here in Sussex, our own branch was founded more than 50 years ago to act as a local guardian for our historic county. We have fought inappropriate development and road expansion, successfully revived the campaign for a South Downs National Park, lobbied for greater protection for trees and become pioneers of the campaign against fracking.  

Despite the relentless, growing pressure on our landscapes, we’ve stood up for the countryside and helped give local people  a voice.  That will never change. But new pressures have now emerged with catastrophic impacts on the land we love. 

We have already seen terrible losses in Sussex. The A27 bypasses slice through the South Downs. There is a soulless sprawl of identikit, car-dependent housing estates from Billingshurst to Bexhill.  Our precious chalk streams, rivers and seas are polluted by greedy private companies.  And further destruction is on the cards, including the expansion of Gatwick airport, bringing yet more noise, air and climate pollution.  

Without drastic action, much of what makes our countryside unique and beautiful will be lost. 

Protection and regeneration 

Wherever you live in a village, city, or town, we all rely on the countryside for clean air, food, thriving wildlife and resilience in the face of climate change.  We need to regenerate as well as protect the countryside, creating a greener Sussex for all.   

We want Sussex power to come from zero-carbon energy, through well-sited offshore wind turbines and solar on rooftops. Homes need to be genuinely affordable – prioritising homes for social rent so Sussex residents can afford to stay in the communities they grew up in. And green spaces need to be protected from reckless development, so we can continue to enjoy our precious countryside for generations to come.    

Our vision 

As the national CPRE charity marks its centenary year, our vision is for a countryside that’s greener, more resilient and protected for future generations.  

Firstly, we must stop needless countryside loss. Secondly, we must improve the quality of the countryside for future generations. Thirdly, we must inspire more people to care for the countryside.   

Together, we can reimagine a countryside that’s beautiful, resilient and loved by everyone. We can protect what we love, regenerate what’s been lost, and help shape a future for the countryside that sustains us all.   

If you share our vision, read and sign our open letter at: www.cpresussex.org.uk/letter-to-sussex. 

Read the full Argus column at: www.theargus.co.uk/news/25763025.cpre-sussex-marks-100-years-urgent-countryside-call/