What We Do

We work at all levels to promote the city and protect the countryside. We are dedicated to conserving and enhancing London. Our projects include:

Publishing a London Planning Guide to help Londoners understand their area
Promoting the Thames Gateway as the best site for regeneration in London
Pressing for Compact Sustainable Communities within a civilised city
Best use of redevelopment opportunities, such as at Elephant & Castle
Arguing for good quality family housing with attractive designs and layout

We have groups across London working on topics within the London boroughs. We also work on strategic issues, such as the London Plan, on regeneration areas and on the 2012 Olympic Park. We co-operate with other partner bodies on issues such as the Green Belt Council and the London Forum.

Latest: We have just responded to the Mayor's proposal for the All London Green Grid - see overview, detailed response (PDF documents).

Why not volunteer for us?

If you are interested in participating in any of the activities we do, then why not volunteer your expertise and time? To find out how you can help, please contact the office, who will put you in touch with the most relevant person.

Planning

Recent planning activities are covered in more detail on our planning page. They include:

Responding to the National Planning Policy Framework - Read our full response (PDF).
A new website - www.planninghelp.org.uk - that gives comprehensive information on how to use the planning system to protect the countryside and promote urban regeneration.
A study of regeneration at the Elephant and Castle is in progress. This aims to identify factors affecting inner city brownfield sites and their prospects for family housing. It will extend earlier work by CPRE London, including the report on Family Housing in London. Researcher Abigail Batchelor presented an update at our 2011 AGM Inner City Brownfield Housing Developments: The Elephant and Castle (PDF).

The Green Belt

CPRE believes the Green Belt is essential for London's survival. This means it has a strategic role which must be recognised at all levels. It has to have an element of permanence. Its wider integrity needs to be maintained. It needs to be kept open and free of intrusive development. The following two items highlight the threats and what we can do:

Dr Nick Falk's presentation to CPRE London's AGM - He addressed how it fits in with sustainability, its impact on places beyond the designated areas and what uses can be reasonably permitted. Download the presentation (PDF: 5.4Mb).
Standing up for the green belt - This article highlights the Green Belt as one of the most important and effective planning tools we have. But the government's draft National Planning Policy Framework appears to give it far less protection than before. Read the article.

Housing Development

Housing is always a controversial sphere. CPRE tries to be positive about the need for housing and about ways in which its inevitable impact can be mitigated. We believe a consistent, smooth delivery of housing in London and the South East - supported by local communities - would secure more and higher quality provision than the rollercoaster that has so often been seen.

CPRE has tried to develop some key principles that might help to create a more balanced debate and achieve more houses for people to live in. A statement of these principles, together with accompanying data sources can be seen here.

Transport

One of the challenges is the battle for London's airports. BAA continues to press the case for a third runway atHeathrow. The government is floating the idea of joint Heathrow-Gatwick hub linked by a high speed line (Heathwick). Simon Jenkins and Lord Foster are backing an airport on the North Kent Coast and Boris Johnson remains committed to a "Boris Island" airport in the Thames estuary.

You can read more about this on our transport page, and also in our eBulletin (25 Oct).

Research and Policy

One initiative this year has been to set up a research basis for our campaigning. The aim is to support post graduate research projects that address the issues CPRE is concerned with. These would be linked to a university with interests in planning and regeneration. Our first such scheme is the Heygate Centre at the Elephant and Castle, in south London. This will evaluate the extent on brownfield site use and the value of urban design in creating new communities. We expect to publish the results during 2011/12.

See the first output of this research as presented at our 2011 AGM (PDF)

Working With Others

CPRE London engages well with other groups, and like-minded bodies. We set considerable store by being able to link our agendas with organisations such as the London Forum and the Urban Design Group. There are numerous heritage bodies that seek to protect special places, and they also forms part of the structure. We are keen to develop these links further, including the London Green Belt Council and London Planning and Development Forum. Turning to green infrastructure as an issue, the London Wildlife Trust and other local groups are active, and need to operate in a wider context of spatial planning.

This page last updated 13th February 2012.