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AGM marks a year of achievement for London’s countryside charity
A year of successful activity to safeguard “Green space for all” in London was marked at our Annual General Meeting on 16 May. Chairman Tony Burton told attendees that although it was a small charity, CPRE London ‘punched above its weight’, making real impact in protecting the city’s green spaces.
Tony noted that among other 2023 achievements, CPRE London had
- Helped more than 40 local groups protect green spaces
- Strongly defended London’s Green Belt
- Launched a campaign to develop an M25 of trees around the capital
- Helped bring thousands of Londoners to the Urban Tree Festival and London Rivers Week
- Published mayoral pledges for the 2024 election
- Delivered more than 1,200 metres of hedgerows
- Grew our GoParksLondon project, supporting 100s of volunteer park friends
- Published new reports on threats to the Green Belt and jointly delivered guides to protect food growing spaces
Typical of projects supported by CPRE London in the community was Beddington Farmlands in south London. Tony, who lives nearby, said the area was a hidden gem that had become one of the top bird watching sites in London.
However, continuous action was required to protect the site. Most recently, the campaign group had put pressure on the council to make sure that developers of a local incinerator carried out a promise made in 2015 to restore the wetlands and open up public access.
Harriet Child, a solicitor at the Public Interest Law Centre, told attendees that her voluntary work with CPRE London had taught her a lot about the complexity of land ownership. On the positive side, it was evident that there were opportunities to challenge local authorities who wrongly assumed they could do what they liked with community space.
Both Tony and Harriet were thanked for their years of support which had been invaluable to CPRE London. Trustees presented the annual report and accounts and elected officers and Trustees of the board.
For a copy of the report see here Annual report and accounts
Presentations from the event:
Beddington Farmlands – Tony Burton talk at CPRE London AGM May 2024
