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I know that Simon’s colleagues and many friends here at the RSPB will be delighted at the news that he has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and will join me in offering our warmest congratulations. Simon is a regular contributor to our Saving Special Places blog and...

Hello from a very sunny and warm Skinflats (I have worked in this office for nine months now and that is the first time I have been able to say that!). The good weather means it is the perfect time to get out and about, and what better way to spend a morning than experiencing some of the fantastic wildlife...

Wednesday is the first anniversary of the National Planning Policy Framework, or NPPF. The draft was subject of much controversy, and even though the final version was much improved, it’s clearly open season for debate about its impact, especially about the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable...

This post is based on an article I wrote for Conservation Planner, our twice-yearly newsletter for planners interested in nature conservation. You can see the new edition on-line here , but if you want to receive a regular paper copy, please contact us. I've updated the piece here in places where...

Readers of this blog may recall that last year I was part of a small group of planning practitioners that drafted a version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Government’s draft version of the NPPF proved extremely controversial, although I’m glad to say the eventual outcome...

Since the hoo-ha over the Government’s new planning policy, there seems to be a new level of interest in how the planning system can deliver for nature. Now that Government has put in place much of the national framework, to general applause, the spotlight turns to England’s 354 local...

The RSPB’s former director of conservation, Mark Avery, is illuminating the road to the Rio+20 Earth Summit with 20 guest blogs. Here he is on the subject of sustainable development – defining what the mantra of ‘SD’ actually is, has been harder than you would think. After...

As a postscript to my last post on the National Planning Policy Framework (can you have a post postscript?), I see that MPs held a debate on it this week. Planning minister Greg Clark introduced the debate by citing a lot of things that the NPPF does. He said, ‘The NPPF makes it crystal clear...

I was reminded the other day that in 1941, in the darkest hours of World War II and with Churchill’s backing, planning for post-war nature conservation was underway. Our countryside and wild places, our wildlife in towns and rural parishes and its role in our lives is part of what defines us. ...

I have now read the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) line-by-line, comparing it with last year’s draft. I am impressed, and still happy, as Martin Harper reported in his blog yesterday . Why am I so happy? Martin mentioned our top three red lines . The Government has listened...

The wait is over. Just under nine months after the Government published its draft new planning policy for England – the National Planning Policy Framework, or NPPF – the final version has been delivered. Here’s what we said in our press release: The Government has listened to public...

We now know for sure that England’s National Planning Policy Framework will be published next Tuesday. But nothing yet is certain about its content. We suspect that there has been much wrangling between Government departments behind the scenes, including over the definition of sustainable development...

Here at the RSPB and at other environment charities we’re waiting with bated breath for the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework (the NPPF). The Government has committed to publishing it by the end of March, and we suspect it may come out sooner, possibly even before the Budget...

I’ve written previously about the threat that planning reform poses to the natural environment, and particularly the draft National Planning Policy Framework . The rationale for planning reform is often posed in terms of the way the planning system is supposed to hold back economic growth. But...

The landscape is changing. I don’t mean the landscape you can physically see from your window, but the way in which we plan for that landscape, its people, places and wildlife. Where I live in Cambridgeshire, there used to be a strategic plan for the county, and then a more detailed, local plan...

A year ago, I gave you some wishes for 2011 . Perhaps some of them were a bit ambitious but let’s see how they turned out. Wish 1. Dungeness is, finally, given the protection it deserves and is cherished both for its wildlife and as a great place to visit and get close to nature. We’ll...

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...

That may sound like Yoda's re-interpretation of a well-known sustainability slogan, but in fact it refers to a Parliamentary bill which today became the Localism Act 2011. The RSPB has been a leading member of the Greenest Planning Ever coalition which has been campaigning on what was the Localism...

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...

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...

This blog has just turned two! Some 330 posts later and what have been the big themes? I had a look at the same question a year ago – and here’s how the top ten topics have changed Dungeness – holds on to top spot with 53 posts Special Protection Areas – up one place...

A short post to keep up with the torrent of interest in planning (in England) – I hope there’s interest in planning elsewhere in the UK, but you’d have to go some! In true blog cross-pollination style – do read Martin Harper’s thoughts here ... Martin is our Director...

This blog is full of stories of the work we do to ensure that the best wildlife sites get the protection they deserve. Sometimes this means opposing proposals that will have profound effects on the best bits of our natural environment, more often it involves working with developers, planners and others...