England’s green and pleasant land set to disappear in decades
Campaigners are warning that under the present government’s polices, England’s countryside will disappear under concrete and tarmac by the end of the century. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is highlighting the devastating effects of the government’s housing policy. Maps published by CPRE show that half of England is already blighted by noise and light pollution at the moment, with some areas suffering even worse levels. The South-east for example is already 70% developed, with the remaining 30% set to be developed in the next 45 years. The region has lost 840 square miles of countryside to developers since the 1990’s.
Country-wide, over 12,350 square miles of our countryside has been spoilt over the last 40 years. We are slowly losing our country to the developers, aided by the government of course. While there is an obvious need for housing, there are plenty of brownfield sites that could be utilised first. Many parts of our cities could be re-developed instead. There is no need to destroy the countryside, this just appears to be a deliberate policy by the government that will benefit no-one apart from the property developers and house-builders.
The need for housing would reduce a bit if these greedy developers didn't go and build enormous luxury houses on these sites that only rich people can afford, probably as a second home. The green belt around near where I live is constantly being threatened, and much as my local council is pretty good about punishing green-belt crimes, if the government over-rule them, there'll be nothing they can do.
Posted by: FactoBrunt | September 10, 2007 10:57 AM