Campaigners have said a national ‘tranquillity map’ should be established to help councils protect England’s most peaceful areas from development.
A poll of councils, National Park Authorities and Areas of Outstanding National Beauty by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) found 90% wanted more guidance over the construction of infrastructure on local wilderness spots.
The same proportion said they would support creation of a ‘tranquillity map’ to help them identify quiet spots, which CPRE warned are ‘getting rarer’ thanks to intrusive development.
While the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework encourages certain planning authorities to protect serene locations, research by CPRE suggests very few authorities outside of those linked to national parks have launched policies that protect tranquillity.
Some 75% of authorities without a current policy to protect local tranquillity plan to introduce one, campaigners warned.
The Conservative manifesto committed the party to ‘build new infrastructure in an environmentally-sensitive way’ and for new roads and railways to be built ‘in a way that limits, as far as possible, their impact on the environment’.
Graeme Willis, rural campaigner at the CPRE, said: ‘It’s encouraging that Government has looked afresh at how good design can reduce the impact of new infrastructure, and pledged to provide new maps of open-access green space.
‘But our research shows that councils are unlikely to drive forward the policies we need to protect some of our most tranquil areas without better open data and guidance.
‘The Coalition Government introduced a landmark national policy to protect areas of tranquillity.
‘We’re therefore calling on the new Government to build on their manifesto commitments and invest a modest amount to enable councils to improve quality of life in their communities.’
