Posts by Nemone Caldwell

A major new CPRE report has found that over half the solar panels needed to hit national net zero targets could be fitted on rooftops and in car parks. The research, by the UCL Energy Institute, for CPRE, shows that decarbonising the national energy grid requires far less land than feared. Installing solar panels on existing…

South Oxfordshire Councillors have recently recognised that in the near future solar energy may be made redundant by more efficient renewable energy sources which are “on” all the time, rather than only when the sun shines. They are right, not least with South Oxfordshire’s own fusion laboratory working hard at Culham to develop reliable and…

More than eight out of 10 councillors fear local democracy will be eroded unless MPs and peers heed their warnings and amend the government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is close to completing its passage through Parliament. The finding comes from a survey of 672 councillors commissioned by CPRE. It found 69% oppose National…

Join in with our Hedgelife Help Out between 1 and 31 May and help us build a nationwide picture of how healthy our hedgerows are. As part of the Big Help Out, we’re asking people nationwide to check the health of their local hedgerows, and take part in Hedgelife Help Out. Hedgerows are the vital stitching in…

Light pollution affects the vast majority of the population, with three-quarters of people in the UK finding their view of the night sky obscured, new data has shown. The results of Star Count 2023, released today by CPRE, the countryside charity, find only five percent of people can enjoy the wonder of a truly dark…

Credit: Steve Houghton-Burnett on Unsplash This May, we are asking candidates in Local Elections to consider 4 key topics. CPRE’s 2022 State of brownfield report shows that the amount of previously developed land continues to grow across England. Currently there’s enough space for over 1.2 million homes to be built across 23,000 sites covering more…

10am Sunday 30th April, meeting at Thornhill Park & Ride, Oxford. Join us on a 10 km (6 mile) guided walk leaving urban Oxford and exploring the surrounding countryside, including the Oxford Green Belt. Booking essential, click here for more information and to book a place. Free – donations are welcome either on the day…

Countryside charity CPRE Oxfordshire is claiming a campaign win after its calls for a county-wide renewable energy strategy appear to have been acknowledged. The Future Oxfordshire Partnership has met to consider a proposal for a Local Area Energy Plan, as part of a broader Pathways to Zero Carbon Oxfordshire (PaZCo) Action Plan. Helen Marshall, Director,…

Oxford City is currently consulting on a new round of high growth-based housing figures for Oxford. Brownfield sites are being prioritised for employment, meaning the pressure on housing supply in the city will increase with ‘affordable’ housing remaining out of reach for most households. CPRE Oxfordshire believes these sites should instead be focused on high…

CPRE South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse responded to this consultation in June 2022.  A review of the consultation has now been published and is available to download. We are encouraged that the majority of the issues we raised in the consultation appear in the report and and we trust they will be…