Dear John,

As I reflect on this year – and look to the next – I’m reminded how crucial our role is in standing up for the countryside. It’s been another busy year for CPRE, with new challenges and campaign wins. Together, we've been an important voice for the countryside we love.

We delivered a major win for the countryside, helping secure a commitment to rooftop solar on most new homes. We campaigned for a Planning and Infrastructure Bill that tackles the rural housing crisis properly, and challenged the false choice between nature and housing. And we made a powerful case for protecting the Green Belt in the face of the existential threat from the government’s so-called ‘grey belt’ policy.

We can only do this with your help. Keep reading to find out more about the impact that we’ve had this year.

Planning reform: standing up for nature and communities

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill has now become law. There’s some good to celebrate – spatial development strategies could help deliver homes in the right places, while protecting the countryside and green spaces. But commitments to a proper brownfield first policy are weak, and Environmental Delivery Plans could give developers free rein to trash nature and simply ‘make up for it’ elsewhere.

Rooftop solar: setting a new standard for new homes

Last winter, over 10,000 of you backed our call for the government to adopt the Sunshine Bill, which would see solar panels installed on all suitable new homes. Later in the year, the government confirmed that this would be required in the upcoming Future Homes Standard – a major campaign win! Many of you backed us once again by sending individual postcards to your MPs calling on them to make the most of solar on wasted rooftop space over car parks.

Protecting farmland and Green Belt from weak policy

Our Farming on the Edge report showed how farmland on the edges of towns and cities provides us with staple foods, generates billions in food supply value, and is home to some of our best soils. Yet, a loss of farms in the urban fringe is a worrying trend, and we called on the government to urgently release a land use framework to help identify and protect urban fringe areas and better support farmers to farm sustainably.

‘Grey belt’: failed policy, not a solution

Staying with the countryside around towns and cities, our recent research shows that so-called ‘grey belt’ policy is not delivering homes on disused car parks or petrol stations. Instead, it is paving the way for large-scale development on unspoilt countryside. This lack of clarity is bad news for the Green Belt and those who love the countryside, which is why we’re calling for an urgent redefinition to ensure development is limited to genuinely previously developed land.

Solutions for the sustainable use of land

We responded to the government’s Land Use Framework, an upcoming set of principles that guides how we use our finite land. We pressed for more joined-up decision-making, better protection for farmland and more public involvement in land use decisions. Our research later in the year suggested that delays in the framework risk unnecessary loss of countryside, nature and food security.

Loss of productive farmland to mega solar

Moving to cleaner energy to help mitigate against the effects of climate change is non-negotiable, but a mega solar free-for-all (at least one the size of Heathrow) on our most productive farmland is the wrong approach, with landscapes in the east of England particularly at risk. When our research shows that rooftop solar could meet 60% of our solar energy targets, we’ve urged the government to set ambitious targets for solar on wasted space, and ensure solar doesn’t risk our best farmland.

Giving the countryside a voice at the party conferences

Attending party conferences gives us the chance to speak to politicians directly, make the case for the countryside, champion the best use of land and speak up for nature. This year, we attended the conferences of the five main political parties in England, making sure that the countryside – and those who depend on it – stay at the heart of the political conversation.

Local action for local landscapes: Hedgerow Heroes

Our local groups and volunteers power our movement. This year six local groups took part in Countryside Day with walks, talks and activities. And there is no better example of our work on the ground than Hedgerow Heroes. This winter, 13 local groups have been planting and restoring hedgerows up and down the country, working with communities to deliver tangible, positive change. We’re hoping to have restored or planted 100 miles by the end of our centenary year!

Looking ahead

Next year is a landmark year for CPRE, as we celebrate 100 years of standing up for the countryside. Throughout 2026 we’ll be marking our centenary with events, stories and actions that celebrate our proud legacy while looking to the future.

Our centenary is a celebration: it's an invitation for you to Love Your Countryside – to protect what matters, and join us in regenerating what’s been lost. But it’s also a call to action. There has never been more pressure on our countryside – we need to make space for nature, grow sustainable food and deliver genuinely affordable homes and other infrastructure in a way that protects the landscapes that sustain us.

Next year, among other critical moments, we’re expecting the release of the government’s Land Use Framework, alongside a consultation based off the new draft of the National Planning Policy Framework. While there is lots to welcome in this draft revision to the NPPF, we also have some concerns. Every step of the way, we’ll use national advocacy combined with local knowledge and passion from our network of CPRE branches to champion positive change for our countryside.

Thank you so much for all of your support this year. Every email you open, donation you make, or action you take helps us promote solutions, and protect and help regenerate our countryside. We hope you’ll join us in 2026 for a year of centenary celebration and action – and for many years after.

Thank you for being countryside champions with us. Your support for the countryside we all love has made a real difference this year. To everyone who stands up for the countryside, all our best wishes for the festive season, and a very Happy New Year.