Category Archives: Natural England

Lodge Hill Saved

Posted on December 17, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Lodge Hill, Michael Gove, Natural England, Nightingales, SSSis | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Chronicling the Sad Demise of Natural England

Posted on November 28, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Andrew Sells, Natural England, Think Tanks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Unicorns in Brexitland: Panto seasons starts early this year

Posted on November 21, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Brexit, climate change, Defra, Michael Gove, Natural England | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Evicting feral ponies, trophy-hunting feral goats. Who decides what goes where?

Posted on October 31, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in commons, Fell Ponies, hunting, Natural England | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Natural England Titanic.

Posted on August 24, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Andrew Sells, badgers, countryside alliance, Europe, Habitats Directive, Natural England, SSSis, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Quoth the Raven: Never More.

Posted on June 18, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Andrew Sells, National Sheep Association, Natural England, Ravens, Sheep | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Dorset chalk downland site sprayed with herbicide and re-seeded for farming.

Posted on April 24, 2017 by

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 →

Posted in agriculture, Downland, EIA, farm subsidies, Natural England | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Shifting Baselines

Posted on November 25, 2015 by

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 →

Posted in cuts, Defra, Natural England | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Natural England steps into the Tumbrel

Posted on November 9, 2015 by

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 →

Posted in Defra, George Osborne, Liz Truss, Natural England, SSSis | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Rampisham Factcheck #5: The photographs of Rampisham Down

Posted on February 13, 2015 by

Some people are trying to make out that Rampisham Down SSSI is a poor quality, low value piece of wildlife grassland, or, as Professor Ghillean Prance, former Director of Key Gardens said a “very degraded and often impacted habitat”. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural England, Rampisham Down, Solar Farms, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment