Three Oxford Brookes University students have been appointed as student ambassadors by a rural preservation charity.
The students, Alanna Heywood, Raheem Adepoju, and Matthew Clayton, will support volunteers at the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) in responding to development applications.
They are all from the university's School of the Built Environment and will each serve on one of four CPRE District Committees across Oxfordshire.
READ MORE: Buses in Oxfordshire disrupted due to village flooding
Their duties will include producing CPRE responses to planning applications and liaising with chairpersons.
Dave Valler, professor of spatial planning at Oxford Brookes said: “We are grateful to CPRE Oxfordshire for providing such an excellent opportunity to our students.
"This real-world experience will be invaluable in developing their skills and knowledge and will support their future careers in planning.”
The students will also connect with parish councils, community groups, and other stakeholders through site visits.
They will gain practical experience engaging with planning systems at a grassroots level, and also supplement the work of the countryside charity.
Helen Marshall, director of CPRE Oxfordshire, added: "It’s fantastic to have these young experts on board to help our volunteers.
"Hopefully, we can also give them some inside experience of what it is like engaging with the planning system from the point of view of local communities."
CPRE Oxfordshire advocates for considerate and well-planned development to ensure anyone living in Oxfordshire in 2050 can appreciate the county's present-day rural character.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here