Some of the comments that we have already received from you:

'Just a quick note to send my full support for your excellent proactive plans to save our beautiful countryside.'

S.K.H.

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'I hear that the National Trust is to oppose the government's house building plans and breathe a sigh of relief that at last a powerful body has spoken out about the rape and pillage of our countryside.

We are facing a crisis in Bolsover, with our council planning to build over 3,800 homes - EVERY DWELLING SET TO BE BUILD ON GREEN LAND. The public is horrified and the first consultation meeting was stormy. However, local people are largely compliant as they feel there is nothing they can do and are not accustomed to their voice being heard. We asked who the houses are intended for and were told for 'inward migration' so are not for local families at all. Indeed we have plenty of housing stock, much empty - even the new build is not moving...

...I hope you remain vocal with your fight to hang on to green belt land and that the government will have to do a U turn'

S Ward, Bolsover, Chesterfield

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As a member I wholeheartedly support the proposal to purchase land in order to prevent development of greenfield sites. Indeed, this seems to me to be a basic function of the Trust, regardless of whether the development is to be made by private companies or by bureaucratic dictat.

M Marsh

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'I totally support you in your view in saving the Countryside .. as a big "company"  perhaps the current Government will listen to you (FINGERS CROSSED)!    I live in a village outside Maidenhead in Berkshire and luckily the street I live in is in a Conservation area but we  have to fight to keep it that way.  We in Holyport have fought to keep the fields green and not have houses, service stations, etc. built on them.

Unfortunately a lot of people just want to make money - doesn't matter what impact it might have on the countryside and Labour has cultivated this "ME, ME" attitude which I find very sad, luckily I think people are starting to stand up for what they believe in and one of those things is the Countryside.

I have often meant to join the National Trust as I have always appreciated what you do to preserve our heritage - after hearing that your Chairman is looking to help preserve the Green Belt I am going to make sure that I join today and actively encourage as many people as I can to do the same ......

Keep up the good work.'

Louvaine Kneen

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'Just to provide my input into the latest moves by the NT executive. The NT does NOT have my support for this kind of activity. Apart from the odour of politicking involved, it doesn't really address the core issues involved:

• The green belt vs housing debate (is it really that simple?) It might sound like heresy to some, but the 'green belt' in its present form is an outdated concept that is stifling the provision of decent, affordable housing for Britons.
• Farming as a 'preferred' use of the countryside. Have the current managers of our countryside (the farming community) done such a great job? Their fertilisers pollute our rivers and lakes, their intensive farming practices bring new diseases to our livestock, and the tariff walls protecting them deprive farmers in developing countries making a living. Time to subject farmers to the same relentless market forces the rest of us have been living with for decades.
• Adding another group of nay-sayers to British life. We have enough lobby groups in the UK already who are resolutely opposed to any form of change. Why not come up with some solutions instead? As I am fond of saying, 'Give an Englishman the vote and he'll vote 'no''

D. G, Lymington, Hants

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'We entirely agree with the main thrust of the message. Far too much Green land is being ruined for the sake of homes. Government is riding rough-shod over this whole question. To a large extent this is simply following out European Dicats. But we know that once spoiled, it is nearly impossible to redeem the land situation, look, feel, habitat, natural history etc.

There should be a policy relating to Green-fields, areas of outstanding beauty etc that is akin to Grade I, Grade II listing. There should be statutory powers to protect beautiful valleys and the like.

Frankly, the message your chairman gives about the conflicts and endangering of the countryside if the Green areas are not protected with a new policy with teeth is spot-on and has prompted my wife and I to say 'We’ll join you'. This current trend and attitude has to be stopped and some balance restored. We want our children and grand-children to enjoy what’s here today. At the present rate, there’ll be little left to enjoy.

So, go for it we say!'

Peter & Faith Loose, Chelmsford

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'Well done for the announcement. It has gone on far to long this government's obsession with building on greenbelt and other greenfield sites. This country cannot sustain such building plans and I do not believe we need so much housing. It seems to me that they do not care about our enviroment or heritage only votes. A properly managed immigration policy and planning process should be able to accommodate both views of an increase in population and saving the environment for our children to enjoy.

This is a very sensible approach deny them the land to develop their concrete jungles.'

S.C.

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'If you do begin to buy up greenbelt land, I will join the National Trust.

We cannot trust wishy-washy governments to protect the countryside. I live in the South East and therefore directly experience the impact of unchecked building.

Trust is the key word. We can't trust the government so millions who feel the same way as me about unfettered development are relying on to you to intercede!'

Ms Sherrie Palmer

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'At this critical time when,as Sir William says, the sheer scale of the ongoing threat to our green belt and countryside from new developments is extraordinary and alarming , it is very comforting to hear from him that the National Trust will do all in its powers to try and prevent this potentially widespread desecration taking place.

The Trust, which doubtless talks for all its 3.5 million members on this particular subject, carries the clout to be effective in opposing so many large scale developments in a way which the individual simply cannot do.

Where a development has to occur, I hope the National Trust will be able to offer its expertise and advice so that such developments only take place in a manner that has the least possible detrimental effect on the environment.

Well done, therefore, to the Trust for bringing this matter to the attention of the public and may this continue on a regular basis, so that members and non-members can offer their own support in whatever way is appropriate.

I am not a member but I shall be applying for membership later today!'

M.J. Rowlinson, Herts

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'As one of those people who discovered the countryside many years ago after living in London as a child, I realise what is at stake with the potential loss of countryside to concrete.

There will always be a demand for new housing - particularly from the developer fraternity (as the only way they can stay in business), but I resent the fact that a large amount of new housing seems to be required to cope with population growth from overseas! (yet another issue).'

M. Graham

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'Your speech used emotive and judgemental statements. I have been one of the generations of supporters for quite some years and am dismayed by your action.

I would willingly support the National Trust's acquisition of accessible green spaces, whether in green fields or green belt. We have a human need to walk free in open countryside - to have a long horizon. The National Trust could do much to open up the countryside.

The Green Belt is artificial, manmade planning policy. Many areas of beautiful countryside are not in the Green Belt and many areas of scrubby brownfield sites are in the Green Belt. Reviewing the Green Belt selectively should include creating more publicly accessible land as well as permitting housing near existing towns and cities. People need decent homes and amazing countryside.'

M. Davies

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'I, and many friends, will cancel our membership of The NT if the policy of purchasing potential greenfield development land is continued.

This is not what the NT was set up to do, it is not our remit, it is not what what we want our funds to be spent on.We are not a political body and must avoid getting dragged into this fringe area.'

M.L.

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I would like to support your comments regarding the National Trust buying green belt land to protect it from potential development. The amount of building proposed by the government is alarming and so fast this is changing the countryside. This is very apparent when maps of the UK show the amount of development in only the last 40 years.

Furthermore, where development is allowed it needs to be built in sympathetic local styles. High volume housing is frequently of a similar style throughout the UK reducing the character of individual villages, towns and cities.'

J Holdsworth

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'Who elected you? Please don’t say that having 3.5 million members gives you the right to decide how the country should be developed. Alton Towers gets millions of visitors, too, but doesn’t presume to dictate laws on planning, fun, or anything else.

It’s not your business. You were founded by three private individuals– not set up by any democratic process.

The village where I used to live, Lamberhurst in Kent, was blighted for 30 years by traffic because the trust and its friends wanted to preserve every inch of the woodlands around Scotney Castle. For the sake of a few trees, ancient houses in the village crumbled to dust and people couldn’t hear themselves talk in the middle of their village. Scotney, of course, was just fine.

Please try to remember that a country is full of people, and not just interesting buildings and pretty trees.'

K. Rossiter

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'It would help the preservation of the green belt and provide more affordable homes in rural areas if the Council Tax on second homes could be doubled or trebled. However the largest single group of second home owners are Members of Parliament - would turkeys vote for Christmas!'

J. Hyde, Purbeck

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'As a member of the NT and one who has never been vocal in the political arena, I can give my full backing to the NT aims to secure the Green Belt and the open spaces.

When planning has become the responsibility of developers and estate agents it is time to act. The arrogance of the Government in this area and the destruction it will cause is quite frightening, there is no planning, no infrastructure and no thought for the next generation.'

T. Wood, Surrey

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'I read with interest Sir William Proby’s concerns about the loss of green belt to new development. I share this concern and wonder whether the current tax on building reinforces this behaviour. As I have experienced, renovating an old building is subject to VAT whereas new buildings are zero rated for VAT. Basic economics would tend to drive you towards a new build for a house vs going through the trouble of renovation, since it is cheaper and probably perceived as more convenient / economic to run and maintain. If renovation of old buildings was zero rated for VAT (and / or new buildings were no longer VAT exempt) it would drive very different behaviours from individual and commercial developers.

If you look around most large towns and cities you see wonderful opportunities to bring quality housing and industrial stock back on to the market, if only the financial incentives were there.'

J.E. Arrowsmith

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'Just to let you know that my wife and I joined the National Trust today directly because of Sir William Proby’s comments about protecting the Green Belt. There seems to be a reluctance to challenge the continued attack on the Green Belt and it’s encouraging that a national body is willing to force a debate on it. The unspoken question remains whether or not the majority of people really accept that we need or should build 3 million new houses at all.'

R. Sayer

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'We wholly support the National Trust in the protection of the green belt and will give whatever support we can against the indiscriminate building programme that this Government is proposing.'

E. Wilmot

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'My Family fully support the position taken by Sir William and the Trust, we fear for the future of the British countryside under this wretched government. Slowly but surely they are destroying everything this once great nation stands for. And we have no faith whatsoever in empty promises by them that the green belt will be protected for all to enjoy, as far as the govt is concerned it is simply a commodity to be used as and when they see fit.

The implications of the new planning bill are horrifying, it is a piece of legislation that the Soviet Union would have been proud of, and it is anti democratic and centralist. Everything is now driven by greed and an ‘economy at any cost’ ethos, with scant regard for quality of life. My Family will be joining the trust this weekend (payday)'

The Fothergill Family

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'I have been a NT supporter and member for many years.

However I am so appalled by the the recent politicisation, arrogance and hypocrisy of the NT, that today I have cancelled my membership. I will give my money to a more deserving, needing and honorable charitable organization.

The National Trust would do well to remember that our land should belong to all of us, and that includes the rights of people to have a home, albeit a much more modest one than most NT properties.'

G. Barker

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'I'm somewhat overwhelmed that in this day and age of economic-gain-at-all-costs, a large respectable organisation like yourself would stand up for what really is the most precious thing we have in Britain - our beautiful countryside. I feel a rejuvenated faith and pride in this country that The National Trust would fight for such a righteous cause. This whole issue has reminded me to do something I've intended to do for a while now, and that is to become a National Trust member.'

With enormous regards and respect,

D. Capp, Buckinghamshire

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