THE Earl of Malmesbury, the president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) in Hampshire, hosted a reception at Avington Park, near Winchester, to celebrate five decades of the charity’s work in protecting the countryside and its landscape heritage.

CPRE Hampshire works across the county at grassroots level to protect and enhance a beautiful, thriving countryside for everyone to value and enjoy. It is part of the national organisation which marks 90 years of campaigning for England’s countryside in 2016.

Among the guests at the 50th birthday reception last Thursday were many of the long-serving volunteers, supporters, corporate sponsors and partners who have contributed to the work and achievements of CPRE Hampshire over the years.

Dee Haas, the county branch chairman, highlighted some of the key campaigning successes in Hampshire, including the creation of the South Downs National Park together with the wonderful countryside of the Western Weald, protecting unspoiled coastline at Dibden Bay in the New Forest National Park, and defending threats to areas of outstanding natural beauty and locally-valued landscapes.

CPRE has a wide remit and other successes in Hampshire include for dark skies, litter-free lanes, tranquillity, local food, sustainable transport for rural communities, and Brownfield First.

Dee said: “It is through my work as a landscape architect with urban communities that I formed the view that green spaces and access to the countryside are not a luxury but a necessity for human well-being.

“As our cities sprawl out, covering green fields with faceless housing estates, people’s access to countryside becomes more and more difficult and it is this which leads me to the belief that we need to counter the effects of unrestricted growth in our beautiful county.

“We understand that rural communities need affordable housing and that if we build on brownfield sites we can save many green fields from development.”

She added: “We believe that one of the best ways to encourage urban regeneration and prevent urban sprawl in the south of the county is to create a tract of green belt along the north side of Fareham, Portsmouth and Southampton, creating a buffer for the South Downs National Park and around Eastleigh and the south of Winchester to the New Forest National Park.”

The Earl of Malmesbury thanked Sarah Bullen for allowing the charity to use Avington Park for the occasion and acknowledged the support of NFU Mutual for its sponsorship of the event and for its support over many years.

CPRE Hampshire has a branch office in Winchester run by a small staff team and is active across the county with six voluntary district groups.