Template letter to newspapers

Dear Editor,

With the 2021 local elections fast approaching, now is the time to ask those who aspire to be our councillors what they will do to protect the Sussex countryside if they are elected.

Sussex has some of the most iconic landscapes in England including the South Downs National Park and High Weald and Chichester Harbour Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Our countryside and green spaces are of immense value for people’s physical and mental health – no more so than during coronavirus lockdowns. But our countryside is under pressure particularly from climate change and development. We need to ensure that the trend for declining biodiversity is reversed and that we plan for people and nature.

CPRE Sussex is calling for candidates in the local elections to stand up for our local countryside by committing to actions to promote solutions to the climate and ecological emergencies.  The actions are set out in the CPRE Sussex Manifesto for the 2021 local elections.

I urge your readers to support the Manifesto and ensure our future local elected councillors work to promote, protect and enhance the countryside now and for generations to come.

Yours faithfully,