Blogs

The river Nene goes through a transformation as it flows from the English Midlands to the East ... refer to the ‘Neen’ in Northamptonshire and you will raise eyebrows – you are in river ‘Nen’ territory! The water carried from the heart of England towards the sea used...

It’s been a difficult year for environmental planners in England. In the summer we had the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the subject of an intense public furore. Autumn gave us the Chancellor’s statement moaning about the burdens imposed by environmental protection and...

On Monday, after what felt like a never-ending process of drafting and honing, we submitted our response to the Department for Communities and Local Government’s consultation on the controversial draft National Planning Policy Framework. Our response was formed of three parts. The first was...

We heard today that the Court of Session in Edinburgh has ruled that it was not illegal for Scottish Ministers to decide that building a new a coal plant at Hunterston is in the national interest. We've been following the twists and turns of the proposal to build a new coal-fired power station...

It’s always exciting when the political tectonic plates start to shift as a result of effective campaigning. The unified raspberry that has greeted the draft of the EnPeePeeEff (National Planning Policy Framework) across England (the rest of the UK can relax for now) has at last brought the Prime...

In the wake of the Sunday Times article (11 September), which splashed the advisory group for the National Planning Policy Framework all over the front page and inside too, today’s Daily Telegraph contains an opinion piece by me which explains the RSPB’s position and some of the problems...

My colleague, Kate Jennings, who's our Site Poilcy Officer - has been at the heart of working to protect our best wildlife sites ... here she reflects on some significant recent publications. Last week saw the little-heralded (although by some long-awaited...) publication of two Government reports...

A little over 150 years ago laws were passed to stop the slaughter of seabirds at Flamborough Head in Yorkshire. One of the leaders of the efforts to do something to stop the killing was the Vicar of Bridlington. A century and half later and the places seabirds nest on land are pretty well protected...

Guardian readers may have seen this article yesterday showcasing some of the UK's rarest flora and fauna and the protected sites that are the last bastions for many of these creatures. Some of the species mentioned occur on our nature reserves where we do all we can to encourage them. Many of...

Over 5000 responses are already in and most are objections to plans by Ayrshire Power to construct a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston. This recent article in the Herald shows just how wide the coalition of opposition has become. You can catch up on the background to the case here and here...