Do you go to the Oxfordshire countryside for some peace and quiet? To see the stars at night? Then there is bad news for you. The rural landscape is becoming lighter and noisier as urban areas and roads spread. And tranquillity is being lost at a faster rate than ever.

In the early 1960s, just a quarter (25%) of Oxfordshire was affected by urban intrusion. In 2007, that disturbance has more than doubled to 59%. And the pace of encroachment is increasing. Between the early 1960s and early 1990s, Oxfordshire was losing around 7% of its rural tranquillity each decade. Now it loses 9% of its tranquillity every decade.

Speaking for CPRE Oxfordshire, Andy Boddington says:

"These maps show that the countryside's peace and quiet is being rapidly eroded. We need to act urgently to ensure that new buildings and roads do not destroy the remaining areas of tranquil countryside in Oxfordshire. We are talking about three types of intrusion into the countryside. Light pollution from badly designed developments spills light upwards into the sky and outwards into the fields. Noise pollution from roads is a rapidly growing problem as traffic increases and road surfaces deteriorate, and aircraft noise is on the up. There is also increasing visual intrusion from badly designed developments that stick out like sore thumbs into the countryside."

"It will be a long time before we can correct the mistakes of the past, but we can ensure that new developments are designed to be as sensitive to the landscape, and the night sky, as possible. In the 1960s, Oxfordshire was the most tranquil county in the South East. [3] It is now the second most tranquil, but how long will that last with all the development that is proposed for the county?"

If the recommendations in the recent report into the South East Plan are adopted, then it can only get worse. But the impact of new development can be minimised. Here are six ways how:

• Through ensuring that all external light sources are designed so that they shine downwards, and not upwards and outwards. This is particularly important for major roads, industrial buildings, goods yards and sports grounds. And why not turn off more lights at night?
• Providing quiet road surfaces and effective screening of roads.
• Tacking urgently the need to move long distance freight traffic from the A34 to rail.
• Moving power lines underground at every opportunity to remove visual intrusion.
• Using design to soften the impact of new buildings on the landscape. This involves careful choice of colour, profile, materials and screening.
• Planting more trees as a screen for sound, light and visual intrusion.

By urban intrusion, we mean land that is disturbed by the sight and sound of nearby roads, urban areas and major infrastructure such as power stations, power lines and railways. Developments on green fields erode and urbanise the countryside projecting noise and light further and wider. New roads slice through undisturbed landscape shattering their calm, and disrupting habitats and wildlife. Aviation growth imposes constant noise on tens of thousands of people and blighting the skies. Currently 50% of England suffers from urban intrusion; 67% of the South East; and 59% of Oxfordshire. In the early 1960s, urban intrusion across England was just 26%, the South East 33% and Oxfordshire 25%. Nationally an area the size of Greater London has been overshadowed by urban intrusion every two years.

Ranking of South East counties (1=most disturbed; 9=most tranquil):

• Early 1960s: 1 Surrey; 2 Berkshire; 3 Buckinghamshire; 4 Kent; 5 West Sussex; 6 Hampshire; 7 Isle of Wight; 8 East Sussex; 9 Oxfordshire.
• 2007: 1 Surrey; 2 Berkshire; 3 Buckinghamshire; 4 Hampshire; 5 West Sussex; 6 Kent; 7 Isle of Wight; 8 Oxfordshire; 9 East Sussex.

Central Oxfordshire will get 40,100 houses instead of the 34,000 originally planned, up 6,100 (17.9%). This is a growth of 2,005 dwellings a year. The increase has been recommended by the Inspectors' report into the Examination in Public into the South East Plan which was published on 29 August.

Further Information

• National tranquillity map (Daily Mail)
• CPRE National press release (10 September 2007)
• Tranquillity