I have always enjoyed Bill Bryson’s books, especially perhaps those about his childhood and youth from which one gleans that he was not particularly serious, maybe even a little irresponsible.

Now however as President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England he is deadly serious and very responsible.  The current message from the CPRE is that more than a quarter of a million houses will, in the next five years, be built on green field sites and that this will lead to the destruction of beauty, tranquillity and diversity.

Two examples of success in saving precious sites, one in Cambridge and one near Stockport are described.  Quite by chance I know them both and applaud their retention for their beauty and for their value as wildlife habitats.

The alternatives are the use of housing stock which stands empty and the many brown field sites which are, in the main, derelict and often an eyesore.  Thank goodness for CPRE and the simple but direct message contained in this appeal.

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