Dear John
Right now, movements like Extinction Rebellion are waking people up to the urgent need to take better care of our environment and finite resources. With your help, we can make the conversation about sustainability and recycling much BIGGER – and help save the countryside we all need and love.
We want the government to understand that we must avoid single-use land as well as single-use plastics.
The best way to do this is with a ‘brownfield first’ policy that ensures previously developed land is recycled before our green spaces are even considered for development.
That way, we can build the homes people need, where they need them, revitalising our towns and cities - while also protecting our countryside.
We urgently need your help to win a ‘brownfield first’ policy.
We persuaded the government to commit to a ‘brownfield first’ policy back in 1998 and just 10 years later, almost 80% of new homes were being built on previously developed land. But it wasn’t to last.
In 2011, the coalition government decided to revoke that brilliant policy, triggering a sharp decline in the number of homes built on brownfield land.
Now it's down to just 53%.
The decision to drop ‘brownfield first’ has been a disaster for our green fields and for all of us. In 2017 alone, an area of countryside the size of Liverpool was lost – countryside we all value for enriching our lives and the environment.
What’s really frustrating is that this scale of loss is unnecessary. We’ve proved time and again that there’s enough brownfield land to accommodate one million new homes, without losing a single green field.
This can’t go on. Will you help us win back a ‘brownfield first’ policy and protect our countryside?
With the donation you send today we could:
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Gather vital evidence to power our campaign.
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Spark public demand to recycle brownfield land first.
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Persuade key decision makers in government to back our calls for a ‘brownfield first’ policy.
Please send your donation right away. The public mood is to see real change on environmental issues – and fast. We must take advantage of this momentum.
Together, we can persuade the government to bring back a ‘brownfield first’ policy NOW - to benefit our countryside and communities for generations to come.
We’ve done it before, let’s do it again. Thank you for helping to make the government think BIGGER about our land and our future.
Best wishes,
Crispin Truman
Chief Executive | CPRE, the countryside charity
