Letter to Leicestershire

Dear Leicestershire 

The countryside is your greatest achievement. A beautiful masterpiece built by centuries of collaboration between people and nature. From meadows and woodlands to rivers, coasts, and the green spaces that bind us together, the countryside connects and sustains us all.  

For a century, the Campaign to Protect Rural England has been its guardian. Despite the relentless, growing pressure on our landscapes, we’ve stood up for the countryside and helped give the people who love it a voice. That will never change. 

Many of the pressures facing our countryside today were familiar to our founders – not least the challenge of providing homes, infrastructure and prosperity on a small island. But new pressures have emerged with more catastrophic impacts on the land we love. Nature is in freefall and climate change threatens to alter our landscapes for good.  

Now more than ever, decisions about how we use our land are leading to the needless loss of landscapes and everything they support. Without drastic action, much of what makes our countryside unique and beautiful will be lost. 

Wherever we live, we rely on the countryside for clean air, homegrownfood, thriving wildlife and resilience in the face of climate change. Yet these foundations are being chipped away.  

Too often decisions are shaped by profit, not what’s needed most – and the countryside pays the price. 

In the Diseworth area of North West Leicestershire, a planning application has been submitted to create 4,250 houses on 781 acres of farmland to create Isley Woodhouse New Town. This is in addition to a proposed plan to swallow up 250 acres of countryside to the east of Diseworth for a logistics park of megasheds the size of 125 football pitches. 

The proposed Norton Heath development in rural West Leicestershire near Twycross Zoo will see more than 1,600 acres of vital farmland disappear to make way for a 10,000-house development which could take up to 40 years to complete. 

Our centenary vision is for a countryside that’s greener, more resilient and protected for future generations.

There is a better way – one we’re calling for, and one everyone can be part of: 

• Stop the loss of countryside. Let’s protect what we love and do everything we can to make sure green fields and woodlands aren’t needlessly lost.  
• Improve the quality of the countryside for future generations. That means thriving communities, clean rivers, healthy food, and resilient landscapes rich in nature. 
• Inspire more people to care for the countryside. A countryside for all where more peopletake action to enjoy and protect it. 

In Leicestershire, we’re looking to PROMOTE, PROTECT and ENHANCE the countryside. Our mission will be undertaken around three integrated campaigns: 

1. Engaging with our community of over 1 million people in the city and county to encourage greater involvement in protecting and enhancing the countryside. 

1. Continuing to campaign for positive policy design and decisions by planning authorities.  

1. We will start to engage with local businesses to encourage them to implement their environmental policies in a responsible way. 

Across the country, people are already showing what’s possible – restoring hedgerows, rethinking development and sustainable farming, and making space for nature.  

As we begin our centenary year, we’re sending this message to everyone: love your countryside and be part of its future. This is just the beginning – and we all have a part to play in shaping what comes next. 

If you share this vision, join the movement today, add your name to this letter and stand with us.  

Sign our Letter to Leicestershire