Look beyond the horizon – what people have said

“Norfolk’s environment is a unique and precious asset. It allows us to grow a substantial amount of the UK’s food, supports a major tourism industry and has an incredibly diverse range of flora and fauna.

Today, Norfolk is facing many challenges including population growth, climate change and the ending of the partnership with the European Union. At the same time, there are huge pressures to grow our economy and build more houses. We must plan effectively, fully valuing our countryside and environment.

The ‘Vision for Norfolk’ is a call for us all to join in the debate about how we manage these pressures, while protecting this precious and fragile environment. The land we have is a finite supply, and all of it serves a purpose. Once it is changed, it cannot be recovered.

How we value the countryside and our historic towns is the key to the future. You can join the debate and help make a difference for the future, and the legacy we leave for future generations.”

Chris Dady, Chairman, CPRE Norfolk

“Norfolk Wildlife Trust seeks a sustainable Living Landscape for wildlife and people where the future of wildlife is protected and enhanced through sympathetic management of land and where people are connected with, inspired by, value and care for Norfolk’s wildlife and wild spaces.

The county is famous for its wildlife and habitats and is extremely rich in its biodiversity, but so much of it is rare and endangered and confined to isolated, fragmented nature reserves.

It is not enough to protect what is there from growing threats. Its future survival depends on us taking a more landscape scale approach to its conservation and this means creating more space for wildlife and repairing broken ecological networks. We have much in common with CPRE’s Vision and look forward to working together for the benefit of Norfolk’s wildlife, countryside, people and prosperity, within the context of a sustainable environment.”

Brendan Joyce, Chief Executive, Norfolk Wildlife Trust

“Norfolk must stop being so easily seduced by the prophets of boom. Quality of life is not a commodity to buy and sell on an artificially-stoked housing market, bound to trample over genuine requirements in precious places.

Perhaps a radically old-fashioned approach should be at the heart of a fresh vision for our county. Let’s put proper care and respect for all our communities at the top of a new agenda. Unwanted and unwarranted large-scale developments – and all the grisly trimmings travelling with them – spell environmental and social suicide. Norfolk must have the right to ‘dew diffrunt’!”

Keith Skipper, Norfolk writer and broadcaster