Share your favourite memory of the Sussex countryside

CPRE Sussex director’s column written for West Sussex Gazette, January 2026.

The countryside is a beautiful masterpiece created by centuries of collaboration between people and nature.

For the past 100 years, the national CPRE charity has helped shape the countryside as we know it today.

As the charity celebrates in centenary in 2026, we reflect on its work – from campaigning for the first Green Belts, to protecting hedgerows and dark skies.

Time and again we have seen that, when the countryside needs a voice, people step up and make change happen.

Here in Sussex, our branch was founded more than 50 years ago to protect and celebrate our own precious landscapes.

Since then, we have fought inappropriate development, battled for a National Park, lobbied for greater protection for trees and become pioneers of the campaign against fracking.

Despite relentless pressure on our landscapes, we’ve stood up for the countryside and helped give the people who love it a voice.

We remain as committed to our work today as we were when the charity was founded.

But new pressures have emerged which pose a catastrophic threat to the countryside we love so much.

Nature is in freefall, climate change threatens our landscapes, and poorly planned development threatens the places and communities we love.

Too often planning and land decisions exclude the people most affected and result in needless loss of nature and landscapes.

We have already seen terrible losses in Sussex – from the pollution of our rivers and seas to the soulless sprawl of car-dependent housing estates from Billingshurst to Bexhill.

Instead of embracing sustainable transport, the A27 slices through our countryside and threat of Gatwick Airport expansion loom large.

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

Wherever you live in a village, city or town, we all rely on the countryside for clean air, food, thriving wildlife and climate change resilience.

We need to not only protect but regenerate the countryside through thriving green spaces, robust sustainable energy and affordable housing.

To do this, our vision focuses on three things.

First, we must stop the needless loss of green fields and woodland.

Second, we must improve the quality of the countryside for future generations.

Third, we must create a countryside for all that inspires more people to take action to enjoy and protect it.

Together, we can protect what we love, regenerate what’s been lost and shape a future for the countryside that sustains us all.

To join the movement, add your name to our open letter here.

We also want to hear what the countryside means to you.

We are inviting everyone to share their favourite countryside memory of the Sussex countryside – and what you think needs to happen to protect it for generations to come.

The memory can be in any format you want, from photos to poems and drawings.

Please send all submissions to info@cpresussex.org.uk