A lack of government action is putting the English countryside's distinctive character at risk, campaigners have warned.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has said that rural areas and market towns are becoming increasingly homogenised in the name of "progress".

Publishing a new report, "Lie of the land", the CPRE warned that without rapid action many local landscapes could be lost forever.

Forum Response: Woodland Trust

Dr James Cooper, spokesman for the Woodland Trust, told ePolitix.com: "We welcome this report as an important contribution at a time when the character of the English countryside faces real erosion by airport expansion and road building to name but two very contemporary threats.

"The report rightly highlights the role of woodland in contributing to countryside character. We have lost some 50 per cent of our ancient woodland heritage since the 1920s and as the Woodland Trust and WWF's study 'From Wild Wood to Concrete Jungle' published last year showed, Britain's own equivalent of the rainforest is still being cleared to make way for the ever expanding concrete jungle.

"It is essential that we safeguard the diversity of our landscapes through stronger planning guidance and measures to place our most valuable habitats for wildlife on a more sustainable footing."

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Richard Burge, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "Great Britain has some of the world's most diverse countryside, together with a profusion of historic monuments and settlements. A lot of this is the envy of the world and must be conserved for future generations to appreciate.

"However, the countryside needs to 'thrive to survive', and this will inevitably require new development from time to time, in order to provide affordable housing, amenities, services and places of employment for the local populace.

"This development, where it occurs, must be allowed to happen provided that it is in accordance with the character of the local area and can provide some viable benefit for the community as a whole. Without such development, rural settlements will continue to turn into villages simply for the retired and for second homeowners."