Can Parliament Save Our Green Belt?

There’s nothing quite like the Surrey countryside in winter but, as Andy Smith, Surrey branch director of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), explains, a growing number of our county’s green spaces are being gobbled up by developers.

- Andy Smith

FOR many of us, a country walk with the family on Christmas morning is a cherished tradition. What better time of year to enjoy Surrey’s woods and wild places than in the crisp chill of a winter’s day? We are fortunate to live in a county with so much countryside – and we can be thankful that more than 80 per cent of Surrey falls within the London Metropolitan Green Belt and has benefited from this protection.

However, changes in recent years to the planning system – and growing development pressures – have begun to eat away at the protection that many of our green spaces have for so long enjoyed.