Name change for Wiltshire's rural charity (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Name change for Wiltshire's rural charity

2:40pm Tuesday 13th April 2010 in News By Jill Crooks

Name change for Wiltshire's rural charity

The Wiltshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has a new name.

The charity has a new working name, called Protect Wiltshire, although its official title remains CPRE.

John Blake, secretary of the Wiltshire branch, said the new name was designed to be more user friendly and attract new, younger members.

He said: “We thought Protect Wiltshire was more succint and sums up what we are trying to do. We think the name will appeal to the younger generation who are concerned about the environment.”

Mr Blake said the branch, whose office is based in Devizes, has 820 members but would like to have a minimum of 1,000.

He said: “Our membership is stable but we would like to increase it. A lot of our members are elderly and we want to get more young professionals and families to join us.”

Mr Blake said the organisation’s recent successes included the campaign to stop the eastern bypass being built under the White Horse at Westbury.