April 2012
Links and references to articles by the leading UK news providers covering subjects that are of interest to those living and working in rural England and Wales.
Green group breaks ranks to blast march of the turbines
A new report by CPRE on the negative impact of wind farms sees the group move away from Friends of the Earth who support renewable energy.
Sunday Times - 29 April 2012 - 4
Ancient estate looks to a future of reinvention
The Mulgrave Estate in North Yorkshire has pioneered new ideas on building sustainable affordable housing. CLA Yorkshire director Dorothy Fairburn is quoted.
The Times Bricks and Mortar - 27 April 2012 - 6
Children urged to try clay pigeon shooting
The new head of the Countryside Alliance has urged children to ditch their computers and try clay pigeon shooting for National Shooting Week in June.
Daily Telegraph - 27 April 2012 - 38
Cutting quango will save extra millions
The abolition of the Audit Commission will save nearly three times more than first thought, according to new figures published by the Communities and Local Government Department.
Daily Telegraph - 27 April 2012 - 2
Dogs defending homes
A letter to the Editor from Lord Taylor of Holbeach that says "homeowners will not be prosecuted if their pets attack a burglar as the proposed extension to the law is to protect innocent people – such as postal workers and midwives – who have to go onto people’s property to do their jobs".
Daily Telegraph - 27 April 2012 - 27
British farmers foot bill for supermarket discounts
A number of leading supermarkets are "fixing" the seasons and demanding British summer fruit and vegetables in spring time, according to farmers. The Government is expected to announce a Bill for a Groceries Code Adjudicator in the Queen's Speech on May 9.
The Times - 23 April 2012 - 9
Drought goes on
A month's worth of rain is predicted in the next 72 hours, with the Environment Agency considering to issue flood warnings. However, it is still not enough rain to curb the drought.
Daily Telegraph - 23 April 2012 - 11
Lane Fox to lead web push for small businesses
Martha Lane Fox is to spearhead a national campaign to encourage small companies to harness the potential of the internet to expand and become more competitive.
Financial Times - 23 April 2012 - 4
Making London homes affordable
A London Mayoral candidate writes that her election policy is to create fixed-price, low cost housing in the capital for key workers by gifting land on a leasehold basis to developers.
The Times - 23 April 2012 - 20
Move to tackle dangerous dogs
The Government is expected to announce today that dog owners will have to pay for their pets to be microchipped and face prosecution if the pet attacks someone in their homes.
Daily Telegraph - 23 April 2012 - 3
Decking at Swallows and Amazons pub upsets villagers
A Grade II listed country pub in Suffolk that features in the Swallows and Amazons books is at the centre of a planning row over proposals to add decking.
Daily Telegraph - 19 April 2012 - 15
Tomb with a view
A businessman's plan to build an 50-ft high Islamic tomb on his green belt land near Cardiff has enraged neighbours.
Daily Telegraph - 19 April 2012 - 15
Boy died in farm quad bike crash
An 11-year-old boy died after crashing a quad bike while helping out on his family farm in Devon.
Daily Telegraph - 18 April 2012 - 2
Drought measures
A letter to the Editor from the Executive Director of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management that says the time for investment in a climate-resilient infrastructure is now.
Daily Telegraph - 18 April 2012 - 19
Manorial rights upheld
A dispute over a stretch of moorland in Lancashire has been ruled in favour of the "lord of the manor".
Daily Telegraph - 18 April 2012 - 2
National Stilton Week
It is National Stilton Week and the Cambridgeshire village has applied to Defra for an extension of the protected designation of origin.
The Times - 18 April 2012 - 17
Native honeybees increase
Native black honeybees are doing better across England than previously thought, according to a new study by Bibba.
Daily Telegraph - 18 April 2012 - 8
Water pipe insurance is 'unnecessary'
A report by the consumer watchdog Which? has suggested that water companies are costing customers more than £100million a year by offering unnecessary insurance for pipes.
Daily Telegraph - 18 April 2012 - 8
£1 lord of the manor wins legal fight
A man who bought "lord of the manor" rights for £1 has won his five-year legal over his Lancashire moorland.
The Times - 18 April 2012 - 17
Gas fracking gets green light
The advice of the first official British Government report into fracking for shale gas advises that the practice should be extended in Britain, despite it causing two earthquakes and the emergence of serious doubts over the safety of the wells that have already been drilled.
The Guardian - 17 April 2012 - 1
£1,000 wildlife prize offered to farmers
Farmers can win £1,000 for creating habitat for brown hares, skylarks and other wildlife with the RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming Award.
Daily Telegraph - 17 April 2012 - 30
Bacon prices expected to rise
The cost of bacon could rise by a fifth next year with pig meat supplies falling to 10 percent as a European Union ban on "sow stalls" comes into force.
Daily Telegraph - 16 April 2012 - 12
Drought spreads to half of England
More than half of England is now in a state of drought with 17 more counties added today including most of the South West and the Midlands.
The Times - 16 April 2012 - 9
Hosepipe ban falls unfairly on domestic users
The chief economist of the CentreForum think tank argues there are other ways to use less water, including farmers who "could take less from the rivers and plant fewer water-intensive crops, water crops less intensively or water at night." he writes that yields and revenues "would be lower but would make sense for the farmer if the compensation was sufficient to cover the likely shortfall."
Daily Telegraph - 16 April 2012 - 18
Land quest drives Yorkshire farmer to south west
Rising prices mean farms are growing larger to increase productivity and margins with some farmers moving south to benefit from the best land.
Financial Times - 16 April 2012 - 4
Walker kicked to death in field by stallion
A woman was kicked and bitten to death by a stallion after walking through a field in Kent on Friday.
Daily Telegraph - 16 April 2012 - 7
Planning red tape
A letter to the Editor from a former planning inspector that says the NPPF has "got the law wrong on the definition of a conservation area" and that "those hoping the document will reduce red tape will be greatly disappointed".
The Times - 5 April 2012 - 38
Save water and wildlife, pleads RSPB
Some of Britain's most threatened wildlife including snipe, watervoles and salmon could be killed by drought and forest fires this summer, the RSPB has warned.
Daily Telegraph - 5 April 2012 - 40
Insurers offer hope for flood zones
Some 200,000 homeowners in flood-prone areas who face the potential withdrawal of insurance next year could be rescued under plans put forward today by the reinsurance industry.
Financial Times - 3 April 2012 - 4
Land dispute costs neighbours £100,000
A judge has criticised neighbours for squandering more than £100,000 in a row over an "unregistered strip of land" in the West Midlands.
Daily Telegraph - 3 April 2012 - 9
Planning letters
Several letters to the Editor about planning including one from the Cambridgeshire branch of CPRE that says "we need to get more homes built but simply releasing yet more land for development in inappropriate and unsustainable locations will simply not do the job".
The Times - 3 April 2012 - 23
Prince Charles backs new waterways trust
The Prince of Wales will become the first patron of the Canal & River Trust, the organisation being set up to care for the historic canals and rivers of England and Wales.
Daily Telegraph - 3 April 2012 - 34
Drought threatens birds and bees
Britain's drought is threatening to topple millions of trees, destroy populations of wetland birds and wipe out the insects that form the base of the food chain, according to Natural England advisers.
Sunday Times - 2 April 2012 - 6
Planning shake-up offers more for lawyers than builders
A case study of the proposed housing development at East Coker in Somerset and impending legal battle.
Sunday Times Business - 2 April 2012 - 6
Save the green belt: cut VAT in home repairs
Charles Clover writes his column about VAT and listed buildings saying that "unequal rates on buildings are bad for our heritage and the environment".
Sunday Times - 2 April 2012 - 23
Professional Advice
