As Prime Minister, Gordon Brown will have a huge opportunity to affirm our national identity with initiatives on the environment and development.  The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) [1] has lined up an identity parade of six iconic aspects of national life which define and unite us [2]. We are calling on the new Prime Minister to single them out for promotion.

National Identity Parade of Shared Treasures
• Classic countryside
• High quality food production
• Our finest landscapes
• A rich historic heritage
• World renowned cities towns and villages
• Access to local shops

CLASSIC COUNTRYSIDE: great green spaces, full of local character, surrounding all our towns and cities, giving people pride in where they live and enhancing their quality of life.

Key test: strongly back Green Belt policy [3] and the vital role of Natural England in reversing decline of our countryside’s quality. [4]

HIGH QUALITY FOOD PRODUCTION: good food, produced to high animal welfare standards taking environmental responsibilities seriously and looking after the landscape.

Key test: ensure adequate support for environmentally friendly farming in the long term by leading the development of a substantial land management fund to replace existing CAP payments. [5]

FINEST LANDSCAPE FOR ALL: almost a quarter of England is recognised by Government as being so beautiful it deserves national protection; the first ever two national parks in Scotland have been established, joining those in England and Wales, and a national park is proposed for Northern Ireland.

Key tests: confirming the South Downs National Park designation [6] and ensuring nationally protected landscapes are not undermined in the proposed new National Policy Statements. [7]

RICH HISTORIC HERITAGE: our amazing historic fabric keeps us in touch with our origins, is our biggest educational resource, and an inspiration for the future.

Key test: adequate funding to deliver the aspirations of the Heritage White Paper and for effective local and regional spatial planning, and recognition of the great economic value of heritage. [8]

WORLD RENOWNED CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES: many of our cities, market towns and villages are so attractive to live in, so rich in design and so distinctive that visitors from all over the world regard them as an essential destination.

Key tests: support initiatives to sustain the urban renaissance, recycle brownfield land and resist overdevelopment of smaller settlements, while providing necessary affordable housing. [9]

ENSURING ACCESS TO LOCAL SHOPS: sustaining the community support offered by local shops and post offices, and preventing their destruction through superstore expansion.

Key tests: ensuring changes to Government retail planning policy (PPS6) do not undermine local high streets or threaten further the local post office network. [10]

‘We know that Gordon Brown is committed to economic success and social justice, but what about other things that make life worth living and bind us together as a nation?  Gordon Brown has made interesting observations on the nature of Britishness [11].  These six iconic aspects of our national identity unite us as few other things do, and we hope that his Government will uphold them,’ said Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of CPRE.

Shaun Spiers concluded:

‘One of Prime Minister Brown’s first big challenges will be to make sure that planning reforms support, rather than undermine these assets.  Will he commit to giving people a meaningful say over what happens to the places they care about?  Or will he be remembered as the Developers’ Friend who allowed communities to be divided and ignored?  We urge the incoming Prime Minister to promote the six iconic treasures in our national identity parade: we’ll all benefit from that if he does.’

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Sir Max Hastings. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen.

2. The CPRE list of Shared Treasures of Britain is inspired by ICONS Online (http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection). Icons Online is commissioned by Culture Online, a part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

3.  Green Belt policy plays a vital role in protecting the countryside around towns and cities. Yet, despite Government pledges, the area of Green Belt has declined in most regions since 2004 and housebuilding levels in emerging Regional Spatial Strategies are placing growing pressure on Green Belt land.

4. Natural England’s recent survey - Tracking Change in the Character of the English Landscape (June 2007) - showed that 40% of our landscapes are changing for the worse. Of the 159 Joint Character Areas analysed 20% were neglected and 19% were ‘diverging’ (where change is taking place which is damaging existing landscape character).

5. Living Landscapes (http://www.cpre.org.uk/library/results/farming), published jointly by CPRE and the National Farmer's Union in July 2006, found that farmers carry out in excess of £400 million worth of landscape work a year beyond what they do within the framework of agri-environment schemes. The findings revealed that if farm payments were abolished farming and conservation work would decline drastically - with devastating effects for the countryside.

6. The South Downs was first identified for designation as a National Park by Arthur Hobhouse in 1947.  It is the only National Park yet to be confirmed out of the original twelve put forward.  The Government announced its intentions to create two new National Parks at the Labour Party Conference in 1999.  The New Forest was confirmed in 2005 but a boundary dispute, known as the 'Meyrick' case, caused delays in the confirmation of the South Downs National Park.  The designation process has now restarted and the Government has opened a limited public consultation on boundary issues.  All being well, the National Park should be confirmed in 2008 and a National Park Authority will be in place by mid 2009.  

7. The Government issued its Planning White Paper on 21 May.  This proposes a set of National Policy Statements for major infrastructure projects covering waste, water, energy and transport. CPRE argues that any new National Policy Statements must not undermine the protection afforded protected areas in current planning policies.

8. The Government published its Heritage White Paper on 8 March.  It contains many welcome proposals for strengthening protection of the historic environment but does not recognise the need for adequate funding for conservation services.  The economic and social value of heritage is demonstrated in Recharging the Power of Place a joint report published by CPRE, the National Trust and Heritage Link in 2004. http://www.cpre.org.uk/library/results/architecture-and-heritage.

9. The Government has had great success in shifting the focus of new housebuilding onto previously developed land and buildings, or ‘brownfield’ land, up from 56% in 1997 to 74% in 2006.  The scope for further reuse and regeneration of brownfield land is examined in CPRE’s recent report Untapped potential (February 2007) (http://www.cpre.org.uk/library/results/housing-and-urban-sprawl).  The need to provide subsidised, affordable homes to meet needs in rural settlements is advocated in Protect Rural England: Build an Affordable Home (February 2007) (http://www.cpre.org.uk/news/view/362) a joint CPRE and National Housing Federation charter.

10. The real choice: how local foods can survive the supermarket onslaught (2006) by Caroline Cranbrook and CPRE (http://www.cpre.org.uk/library/campaign/local-foods). The report documents how the refusal of an application for a superstore in Saxmundham, East Suffolk in 1998 has enabled the local network of high street stores, village shops and post offices to thrive against national trends of decline; these outlets have in turn supported over 20% growth in the number of local and regional food suppliers. 

11. Including in response to questions following his recent speech to the Green Alliance on 12 March, 2007 when he expressed an interest in ‘the power of the countryside as a symbol of what it is to be British’.