Bit angry this week, lads. The CPRE – officially the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England; known also in certain circles as the campaign for the protection of the rural elite – has put out the latest volume of its great work of magical realism, the State of the Green Belt report.
It’s nonsense, on multiple levels. I think the CPRE’s firmly held belief that the green belt should be sacrosanct is nonsense of course, but more than that – the figures it’s collected to show the rising tide of brick gradually swallowing the fields of England are demonstrably inaccurate; and its claim that brownfield can solve the housing crisis is demonstrably rubbish, too.
So, I decided to spend this week’s podcast shouting about all this. I dragged New Statesman political correspondent and official young person Patrick Maguire into the podcasting bunker with me, so that I wouldn’t just be shouting at myself.
Episode 100 next week, lads. Exciting times.
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