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What Is So Special About Somerset?

Think of Somerset and you immediately think of the beauty and variety of its countryside - from the ridge of the Mendip Hills, to the wildlife-rich levels & moors, our heritage of orchards and cider making, the rocky shores of the Bristol Channel and the rolling hills and pretty villages of the Blackdowns & Quantocks.

Yet sadly Somerset, like so much of our countryside, is something we can no longer take for granted. Somerset has a strong tradition of agriculture and industry which must be made more sustainable and which must exist alongside the ever-growing need for new homes, energy generation, new infrastructure and transport improvements.

New affordable housing development in Barton St David

Living and working in the countryside is increasingly difficult for very many people on lower household incomes. The Commission for Rural Communities found that the average rural house costs almost seven times the average annual rural household income in 2007.

Published in The issues

CPRE Somerset and planning

There are many planning challenges currently facing Somerset including housing, wind turbines, solar parks, Hinkley C power station, quarrying, waste and transport infrastructure. We consider each one on its merits and ask: it is appropriate? Is it needed? What impact will it have on our countryside and our communities?

Good land-use planning is the unsung hero of environmental protection and has always been one of CPRE's top campaigning priorities.

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Help with planning

Do you want to keep Somerset’s countryside beautiful?

Are you worried about a potential development in your area?

Don’t know what to do?

Here is our guide to help you .......

Published in In depth

Best Village Shop Award

And the winner is.......

Published in Update

Somerset local food and drink

In spite of the unprecedented loss of grade 1 agricultural land, the foolish policy that saw the wholesale destruction of ancient orchards and the baleful growth of intensively reared animals, Somerset is still a county blessed with the highest quality of traditionally reared meat, internationally acclaimed dairy products, orchards with treasured old fashioned varieties of apples, farm shops and markets, boutique vineyards, as well as the eponymous Somerset cider producers.

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Protecting our best farmland

Population, globally and nationally, is growing. In the United Kingdom population is forecast by the Office of National Statistics to grow by about 10 million to 70 million by the year 2030. This is the basis of predicted housing needs.

At the same time, the cost of imported food is likely to increase faster than locally grown food because of higher transport costs. The need for a transition to a farming system less dependent on oil (such as organic farming) is self evident as is a need for growing food locally.

We must protect our farmland from development.

Published in In depth

Farming in Somerset

We strongly support the countryside stewardship role played by our farmers. Farmers are crucial in maintaining and protecting the beauty and diversity of our countryside. Their opinions matter.

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Star Count 2019

Dark, starry skies are one of the most magical sights the countryside can offer. But light pollution means many of us can’t see the stars. Help us reclaim our dark skies. Take part in our #StarCount2019

Published in Update

Tagged under

Dark skies in Somerset

Darkness at night is one of the things that defines the countryside and makes it so different from towns and cities. But that darkness is disappearing, and with it our view of the stars and planets. Nationally, CPRE has campaigned for many years for protection for our dark skies following survey work which showed that light pollution in the South West increased by 17% between 1993 and 2000.

Published in The issues