Kate Adie becomes President of Dorset CPRE
The journalist has taken up the role to help protect our countryside
The Dorset branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has a new President, Kate Adie.
She's been introduced to members at the group's at its 86th Anniversary Annual General Meeting.
Journalist Kate Adie, who has lived in Dorset for over 12 years, spoke about her passion for the countryside having first fallen in love with it while growing up in Sunderland.
She talked about the way the world is changing and keeping modern farming in harmony with the countryside. She said:
“We lead busy lives, we need to make our mark, stand up for our principles and be happy to have a chance to help it."
Peter Neal, Dorset CPRE Vice-President, who chaired the AGM said:
“We are absolutely delighted that Kate has agreed to be our President and she will be a great ambassador for our charity.”
Ahead of an expected General Election in 2024, the CPRE's set out a manifesto for the countryside.
It includes a focus on a planning system with democracy at its heart; properly balancing our use of land to meet the needs of people, planet, and nature; as well as prioritising development on brownfield land.
It also calls for genuinely ‘affordable’ housing linked to local incomes and to make solar panels a standard requirement for all suitable new build housing, commercial buildings and car parks to secure planning permission.
Dr Guy Dickinson, Vice-Chair of Dorset CPRE’s Trustees, spoke of the problems facing Dorset in particular, saying the countryside, Green Belts and National Landscapes are under threat from development. He said:
“We strongly oppose any attempts to redraw the boundaries of either. We believe, as we always have, that new houses should be built on Brownfield rather than Greenfield sites.
“A huge contribution is made by our volunteers in examining and responding to planning applications, assisting with campaigns, attending and speaking at planning meetings, writing articles and responding to consultations.”