Our coastline: Life on the edge?
The furthest point from the coastline in England and Wales is only 110 kilometres and a large proportion of the UK population, about one-third, lives within 10 kilometres of it. With an ever changing coastline – due to climatic conditions, erosion, flooding and sediment supply – how can informed decisions about managing the coast be […]
Rural Statement – what does it offer?
Is the Rural Statement a ‘new’ contract to empower communities or re-presentation of ‘old’ initiatives? Jessica Sellick finds out. Under the strap line ‘new contract to give rural communities power to hold Government to account on rural growth’, the Rural Statement 2012 was launched by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson on 12 September 2012. This eagerly […]
Whose rural-urban fringe?
Land is one of our greatest assets, providing us with basic services, underpinning the economy and highlighting national identity and cultural heritage. Yet the ‘rural-urban fringe’ – the countryside immediately around our towns and cities – has all-too-often been a neglected and wasted resource. With increasing demands being placed upon land, can we afford to […]
What’s [not] in the Rural Statement
The government pledged to issue a rural statement this spring. It’s been a long time coming, says Jessica Sellick. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Government will soon publish a Rural Statement. The Statement can be traced back to April 2011, was officially announced in November 2011, originally due […]
Championing the countryside
TWO years ago the Coalition Government set out a number of policy commitments over the next five years to ‘rebuild the economy, unlock social mobility, mend the political system and give people the power to call the shots over the decisions that affect their lives’. With aspirations to turn old thinking on its head and […]