CPRE Protect Kent

The Campaign to Protect Rural England - a bit of a mouthful, but it does what it says on the tin. Their mission is "to protect our natural landscapes from destruction and degradation".

Protect Kent - sounds pleasingly more like a battle-cry, and they're our local bit of the CPRE. Their mission statement begins:

Protect Kent seeks to ensure the survival of our County’s landscapes and heritage, and aims to protect the County from inappropriate developments wherever they may occur.

My kind of people! They are busy the length and breadth of Kent, battling the selfish and the senseless, for the greater good. Construction of superstores, destruction of woodlands, the Lower Thames Crossing and the Operation Stack Lorry Park - you get the picture. Of particular interest to us is their recent heroic performance at the Lydd enquiry:

This is our bread & butter, what our members expect of us, our raison d’etre – to challenge inappropriate and unsustainable development of whatever type, wherever it may be.  The proposed expansion of Lydd Airport is an example in the extreme.

I was delighted to find that night flights at Manston feature on their map of Threats to Kent:

These people care about the things that you care about, and they have the clout and expertise to make a difference. They have the clout and expertise because they have full-time staff who have built up years of experience successfully doing the things we're trying to do.

These nice people need to eat, and buy clothes, and pay their phone bills. They need money. Your money. My money. Any money will do. This is where membership of Protect Kent comes in. Click HERE, now, to pop over to their website, where you can get whatever kind of membership suits you best - joint, family, concessionary, under 25, whatever.

Take your pick, and then press the magic buttons to make it happen. You'll get automatic membership of the national CPRE, and you'll get half-price entry to lots of nice places, and you'll get occasional magazines and other good stuff, but most importantly you'll get that nice warm feeling that comes from knowing you've done the right thing for the right reason.