Category Archives: Natural England
Natural England uses its legal powers to protect our best grasslands
This Natural England press release has just been published: Some of the country’s rarest and most threatened fungi will be better protected after Natural England announced the notification of two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). 2019 marks the … Continue reading
Lodge Hill Saved
There was some very unusual good news late last week as Homes England announced that it was no longer pushing for housing development on the protected areas of Lodge Hill – the former military training ground (and munitions works) on … Continue reading
Chronicling the Sad Demise of Natural England
One of the more interesting consequences of having written a blog about Nature and politics for eight years, (aside from a short break between July 2012 and May 2013), is that you can look back at earlier ramblings, thoughts and … Continue reading
Unicorns in Brexitland: Panto seasons starts early this year
What does Christmas mean to you? John Lewis adverts? An excuse for some retail therapy? Religion? Or Pantomimes? It’s a long time since I went to a Christmas pantomime, but they seem to continue to be very popular. This year, … Continue reading
Evicting feral ponies, trophy-hunting feral goats. Who decides what goes where?
What should we be conserving? Which animals should be free to roam the British countryside; free to behave as naturally as they can. And who gets to decide? These questions have come to the fore once again in recent weeks, … Continue reading
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Natural England Titanic.
Natural England chairs come and go, and today’s publication of the advert inviting applicants to be the next chair, gives me an opportunity to look, once again, at the absolute state of Natural England. Some may feel all I do … Continue reading
Quoth the Raven: Never More.
On Friday last week Defra announced that Natural England chair Andrew Sells would be standing down in January 2019, a year earlier than had originally been planned. Sells joined the Natural England board in 2014 on his first 3 year … Continue reading
Dorset chalk downland site sprayed with herbicide and re-seeded for farming.
It seems almost inconceivable that 20 years has passed since a Chalk Downland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was ploughed up in Sussex. The Offham Down case became a minor cause celebre during the election campaign of 1997 which … Continue reading
Shifting Baselines
This post isn’t about how our perceptions of environmental change get reset with each generation. It’s about Defra’s budget. Today’s spending Review saw Chancellor Osborne perform some typical numerical tricks, as he sought to position himself nearer to the centre … Continue reading
Natural England steps into the Tumbrel
Liz Truss has apparently already agreed to a 32% cut to the Defra budget for the 4 years from 2016-17 onwards. This impressive feat allows her to sit on the panel which resides over the imposition of cuts on other, … Continue reading
