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The countryside next door

Children in the countryside looking across a field of crops

Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay

The value of all green and wild areas has been underlined by recent pandemic restrictions. During lockdown, the need for accessible parks, open spaces, wild areas and green corridors radiating out into the countryside became more essential than ever.

People needed to escape from urban areas into a green environment for their allotted daily exercise and they flocked to beauty spots at the earliest opportunity once lockdowns eased. Long term, we must protect more green space, open up access to the countryside and have very high standards for development to ensure our needs are met without destroying the beauty we have.

Read our Access to the Countryside – Position Statement

Green Belt for Norwich

The Government’s Green Belt policy was established in 1955 primarily to stop urban sprawl. It does not forbid development, but aims to preserve the character of historic towns and assist urban regeneration.

Unlike many major cities, Norwich does not have a green belt and that needs to change.

CPRE Norfolk is calling for the creation of a Green Belt for Norwich to provide robust protection for precious green spaces around our fine city. Our vision is for ‘green wedges’ radiating into the countryside, following existing corridors, such as river valleys, railway lines (used and disused), footpaths and cycleways.

This will still enable development which is needed for homes and jobs, but would protect the city’s character for generations to come.

Green belt wedges radiating into the countryside

Our vision

CPRE Norfolk believes that valuing open space more highly than land for development is a key step, but this must not mean that the county becomes unaffordable for those living here. Key to this is meaningful consultation and transparency in term planning for long term goals with measures that put people, not money, first.

We have published a leaflet calling for inclusion of a Green Belt for Norwich within the Greater Norwich Local Plan. We believe this would protect Norwich’s special character for generations to come, as well as creating an integrated green network for the benefit of the Greater Norwich area.

Read our Green Belt leaflet