Category Archives: England
Badgers: the debate continues
Badgers: the debate continues The threat of bovine TB to cattle is still as great as ever, with the latest statistics release from Defra highlighting its continued presence. The use of badger culling to attempt to reduce the incidence of … Continue reading
Environmental Stewardship and farmland birds: the evidence base
Declines in biodiversity have been observed across many habitats in the UK over recent decades. This is especially true in farmland habitats. Changes in practices have led to huge increases in productivity in farms, but this has come at the … Continue reading
Badger cull: licences reissued by Natural England
In 2011, it was announced that a badger cull would be implemented to attempt to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis. Licences were issued last summer, with culls initially scheduled to take place last autumn. Due to the combination of … Continue reading
Forest estate in England to remain in public ownership
For the past two years, the future of England’s forest estate has been uncertain. Proposals to sell-off large areas of forest in early 2011 were quickly withdrawn, but not replaced by reassuring policies. The publication of the Government’s response to … Continue reading
Is this 'Bird Armageddon'?
Since 1966 UK bird population has decline by 44 million which amounts to just under a million birds a year (over 45 years), which is dismal November news indeed. Yesterday the RSPB published their most extensive survey of the UK’s … Continue reading
Natural England Issues First Badger Cull License
Natural England yesterday issued the first license to cull badgers, under the Coalition Government’s controversial plan to allow free-shooting of the animals by consortia of farmers. Rather than vaccinate badgers, as is being trialled in Wales, in England the Government … Continue reading
First occurrence of ‘ash dieback’ in Britain
A fungal disease caused by Chalara fraxinea was found for the first time in a nursery in South East England. The disease is widespread on the Continent and can kill ash trees. The nursery imported 2,000 ash trees from the … Continue reading
Homecoming of the short-haired bumblebee after 24 years
Following three years of intensive preparations, the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus) finally came home today to South East England. Around 50 queens from Sweden were released today at the RSPB’s Dungeness reserve in Kent. The species was last seen in … Continue reading
New Planning Guidance for England: Analysis by the IEEM
On 27 March, the UK Government published its final version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how they should be applied. The final NPPF is an improvement (for nature … Continue reading
Government to Publish National Planning Policy Framework
The Government will this afternoon publish the long-awaited National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which will simplify over 1,000 pages of planning guidance into just 50 pages and set out a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ that will apply across … Continue reading