Venue – Merchant Taylor’s Hall, City of London. Date 16 November 2007
To test/inform/develop a Vision for the Countryside circa 2026 (CPRE Centenary).
Conference Format
Attendance ~170 comprised of CPRE staff, speakers (25) and delegates (90) from the regions.
Delegates pre-allocated to round tables of 6-8 according to with pre-nominated co-ordinator/ spokesman.
Delegates stayed with same team for morning session and moved to a different table for post lunch session.
Four ‘come make your point and go’ sessions for free ranging discussion on 4 pre- selected topics over lunch. (Buffet lunch with wine)
Literary panel in the evening to discuss books – I did not attend.
|
1055-1100 |
2026 VISION - WHAT FUTURE FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE? SESSION 1 Introduction by Andy Brown, Chair of the Policy Committee Five areas_ of policy will be debated — three in the morning session, two after lunch. Each policy area will be introduced by a speaker, and you will then have the opportunity to discuss with those at your table the points raised, and for your table 'rapporteur' to feed back the table's view to the meeting. The collated inputs from these will be fed into a report to the Trustee Board. |
|
1100-1125 |
Issue 1 - Housing and demography, introduced by Peter Langley, West Midlands Regional Group Topic 1 Key issues • Challenging the overall quantum of house building and other development proposed • Focusing development on brownfield sites in urban areas without 'town cramming' or loss of environmental character • Reinvigorating the green belt and ensuring it remains fit for purpose • Gaining better control over sizes and types of new housing • Campaigning for better and more accessible services in rural areas
|
|
1125-1150 |
Issue 2 - Planning and local democracy, introduced by Nick Thompson, North West Regional Group Topic 2 Key issues • Engage regional MPs • Challenge the supremacy of economic development • Re-establish stakeholder involvement • Critical friendship with every Local Authority • CPE
|
|
1150-1215 |
Issue 3 - Engagement with the countryside, introduced by Anne Robinson, CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire Topic 3 Key issues 3 • Public understanding of the countryside • A bridge between town and country • Community involvement • A place for enjoyment • Mass engagement in countryside issues
|
|
1215-1230 |
CPRE - THE INFLUENCING ORGANISATIONWords from Sir Nigel Thompson and Shaun Spiers |
|
1300-1345 (Lunch time) |
Great Hall CPRE 2012 TRUSTEE DROP-IN WORKSHOPSFour workshops, each facilitated by a Trustee, will run on an informal "drop-in" basis from l pm to 1.45pm: Topics: 1. Who, what and how have we influenced 2. How will the constituent parts of the
organisation work together to influence 3. What has the national charity done to
help branches influence the local policy What does CPRE as an organisation look like in 2012.'
2026 VISION - WHAT FUTURE FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE? SESSION 2 |
|
1400-1425 |
Issue 4 - Food and farming, introduced by Caroline Cranbrook, CPRE Suffolk Topic 4 Key issues • Our unsustainable food and energy systems rely on decreasing supplies of cheap foreign labour, oil, and plentiful water • Increasing pressure on the land due to the need for more food and bio-substitutes for fossil fuels Solutions • Localisation of industry and infrastructure; empowerment of local communities • Research into diseases and new technologies
• Stronger planning guidelines, within the context of an environmental and countryside blueprint for Britain
|
|
14.25 1450 |
Issue 5 - Landscape, introduced by Andy Brown Topic 5 Key issues
• Is protection of ‘special landscapes’ such as National Parks/ANOBs largely complete and are any changes required in light of climate change? • The new focus is on the ‘countryside next door’ – greening the Green Belt is therefore vital • Open space should be preserved, but in the context of a more peopled landscape • Proactive or reactive approach to climate change adaptation • More countryside in towns and cities – green roofs, green ‘wedges’, and an increase in urban woodland and parks
|
|
1450-1500 |
Summary by Andy Brown and Sir Nigel Thompson Close of main conference |
|
|
|
Comments
· Wide range of ages – early 20s to grey beards. (Our branch must be missing a trick on recruiting.)
· Not so much a conference – more of an enforced brainstorming session and quite hard work. 5 minutes of presentation, 10 minutes of roundtable discussion and prioritising issues/detailing issues to avoid (immigration seemed to be the only one) /adding in other issues then 15 seconds for each co-ordinator to present the views of their table.
· Lots of enthusiasm; lots of different and sometimes quite disparate views. Everyone I spoke to seemed very receptive to change and willing to debate the need for and how best to achieve change. Pleasingly, for the most part, short on dogma.
· General acceptance that we need to stop seeing problems with other people’s (eg HMG) ideas and to present, coherent, holistic well-researched solutions instead.
· Consensus that the Climate Change solution might have to embrace population management on a global scale.
· Consensus that while landscape was important its preservation could not be primus interpares in the light of the need to manage climate change. We need to do the best we can but also need to be pragmatic.
· Consensus on need to work with other to facilitate low cost housing.
· Consensus that we need to do more to break down the rural/urban barrier perhaps including renaming CPRE to CPE – Council to protect England/the Environment
Fun and good value but quite Hard Work!
John Swainson
20 November 2007