Build the future green by Philippa Atkin: saving our greenbelt

At CPRE West Yorkshire, we believe in connecting people to their countryside and empowering them to shape it. We want a countryside that is fit for the 21^st century and rises to the challenges posed by climate change. This poem by Philippa Atkin captures our ambitions, and we hope it inspires you to action too!

Look at what’s around you,
at our valley bright and green,
where the Black Brook rushes swift
and the air is soft and clean.

Follow winding pathways
under whispering skeins of trees
where wild deer greet the dawn
and birdsong lilts upon on the breeze.

Look at where the flowers bloom
and grass grows lush and sweet,
where cattle chew the cud
and spring lambs romp and bleat.

All the seasons bless us
in this space of aching charm,
for sharing in this beauty
is our souls’ gentle balm.

And when the deluge comes
and storm clouds whirl and scud,
we are shielded by the broad fields
which gather in the flood.

And yet, another flood is coming
which will sweep all this aside,
a wave of brick and tarmac
in a crushing red-black tide.

They would build an urban wasteland
where the 4×4 holds sway:
executive detached for some,
at a cost we all must pay.

More cars upon the roads,
more noxious traffic fumes,
less chance to see the doctor,
less space in school classrooms.

Let us call on politicians,
who are the masters of our fate,
to remember that they serve us,
before it is too late.

Please build on brownfield land
and repurpose vacant shops,
don’t lay waste to meadows
and lay bricks on woodland copse.

Don’t choke our children’s airways
with your hubris and your greed.
Build a local plan to build
what locals truly need.

Before you smite our green belt,
regardless of the cost,
think of what you’re doing,
and what is forever lost.