: A fine blog indeed! I was tempted to scribble EP woz ere but I it would lower the standard.
Pete Smith @ July 19, 2008 # No Comment Yet
The East of England Regional Assembly has voiced concern over proposals for four eco-towns in the region, involving nearly 50,000 new houses. The body is worried that the planning system will be bypassed and that the schemes themselves are unsustainable.
Responding to the eco-towns public consultation, the Assembly raised concerns that the new homes are not [...]
Pete Smith @ April 26, 2008 # No Comment Yet
It’s been a mixed week or so for the wind power industry. On April 22nd, the Scottish government rejected plans to build one of Europe’s biggest onshore wind farms owing to “significant adverse impacts” on the local environment. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, billionaire Texas oil [...]
Pete Smith @ April 17, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Cambridgeshire County Council has voiced concern over elements of the proposed Northstowe new town which is planned to be a prototype for the Government’s eco-town programme. The 9,500 home project has been criticised by councillors as not ambitious enough in terms of sustainability and water management.
To date, the council has raised more than 70 objections [...]
Pete Smith @ April 17, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Last Thursday, April 10th, The London Paper, a give-away tabloid from the News International stable, ran an article under the headline “Block put on paving over front gardens”. The main thrust of the story involved supposed plans at DEFRA to force householders to appply for planning permission before they can pave over their gardens. The [...]
Pete Smith @ April 6, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Flicking through the proposal document for the Middle Hinton eco-town near Long Marston in Warwickshire, I was struck by how familiar some of the images and wording seemed. Pictures of photogenic people relaxing in traffic-free squares, smiling families frolicking hand in hand through dappled sunlight, and serried ranks of pushbikes just waiting for someone to [...]
Pete Smith @ April 3, 2008 # 4 Comments
Here are the official details of the shortlisted sites, from the Department for Communities and Local Government web site:
- Pennbury, Leicestershire: 12-15,000 homes on a development incorporating brownfield, greenfield and surplus public sector land. Four miles south east of Leicester. This proposal could include 4,000 new affordable houses in an area of high affordability pressure.
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Pete Smith @ April 3, 2008 # 23 Comments
The government has finally released its list of 15 eco-town sites into the wild. It’s good to see that some of the more cynical proposals have been weeded out. Micheldever in Hampshire, for example, was a many-times recycled application for development on greenfield land, and it is to be hoped this is the last time [...]
Pete Smith @ March 10, 2008 # 5 Comments
We wait with bated breath for the UK government to publish its shortlist of proposed eco-town sites in April. Around fifty projects have been put forward, but the government has refused to release information on the bids or locations on grounds of bidder confidentiality. Information is leaking out from somewhere, however, and there are growing [...]
Pete Smith @ February 26, 2008 # 3 Comments
The UK Government will shortly publish its short list of eco-town schemes for consultation, following a cross-Government review. The original plan was for a programme of five eco-towns to be implemented across the English regions. However, interest has been so high (over sixty proposals have been registered with the government) that the Prime Minister announced [...]
Pete Smith @ December 7, 2007 # 7 Comments
The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that the necessary legislation for a more relaxed planning regime for domestic microgeneration equipment – solar panels, heat pumps, biomass boilers and combined heat and power schemes – will be published in Spring 2008. The results of a consultation paper, on the extension of householder permitted [...]