The vast majority of people in Britain believe it’s important to have access to the countryside close to where they live, according to new polling.
A clear majority (85%) of people who took part in the survey said that access to the countryside was either ‘very important’ (53%) or ‘fairly important’ (32%).
Strong support for countryside access was evident across every age group, gender, region and socioeconomic background.
Over 2,000 adults took part in the survey, which was launched by the CPRE, the countryside charity.
Strikingly, 85% of those who voted Labour in 2019 agreed that access to the countryside was important. The figure for Conservative voters was 91%.
CPRE chief executive, Roger Mortlock said the results proved the countryside was "deeply important to people, whatever their political beliefs and backgrounds".
He said: "The countryside is working harder than ever to address the challenges our nation faces but we’ve got to start treating our land as the finite resource that it is.
"We need an approach to land use that will help the countryside provide food and energy security, nature restoration, climate change mitigation, health and wellbeing benefits, space for new homes – and space for beauty, too."
The CPRE is currently campaigning on the new government to 'protect the countryside', including the Green Belt.
Issues surround planning system reform, affordable housing, the transition to clean energy and the need for joined-up decision making on how land is used.
