21st Century Challenges

Lord Rotheschild, the financier and a friend of Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, is leading a revolt against government plans for a 250mph railway line that will cut through swathes of the countryside.

On the eve of the general election, the writer and rural advocate challenges party leaders on the crisis facing our countryside

Panel discusses proposals to run 250mph trains between London and Birmingham

The Government has announced plans for the development of a high speed rail network linking London to Birmingham.

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker and Shaun Spiers from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, discuss how to reconcile the benefits of large national projects with local objections.

The decentralisation of power is all very well, he argues. But what about things that are in the interests of the UK as a whole? What if we need a new rail-link, or a new power plant, or a new airport? Would every local council be allowed a veto?

Can expanding Bristol's airport make the city greener?

The Conservatives have released their Planning Green Paper, 'Open Source Planning'. The paper outlines proposals to use 'open source democracy' and neighbourhood involvement to encourage sustainable development.

Planning issues rarely make it above health and education in the policy agenda, but a much-anticipated Conservative Green Paper, due for publication before the end of this month, could change all that. The Tories want planning decisions to be taken locally rather than by central government.

We want new jobs; but not a factory down the road or a windmill or aircraft noise keeping us awake. We poke fun at NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard – syndrome, but we are all NIMBYs. Planning is about striking a balance between expansion and conservation. There will never be a ‘right’ answer.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne has today pledged that his party will build London’s £15.9bn Crossrail scheme and start work on a north-south high speed rail line should they win the next General Election.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is unable to perform the task it was set, approving planning decisions for big energy and infrastructure projects such as nuclear power stations and high-voltage transmission lines, because the Government has yet to define the legal guidelines it should apply. Insiders say those criteria are unlikely to be approved before the general election and now the Tories have pledged to scrap the agency.

One in six of the UK's officially-designated beauty spots could soon be blighted by wind farms, an investigation has found.

Bids for tenders for nine zones around territorial waters and the Continental Shelf were submitted to the Crown Estate, which owns the seabed to a distance of 22.2km off the UK coast.

Controversial plans for a line of giant pylons from the Highlands to central Scotland have been approved by the Scottish government.

A high-speed rail line from London to Scotland will cut through swathes of protected countryside under plans to be handed to ministers this week.

Local and regional newspapers have been thrown a lifeline after the government decided to safeguard £15m of local advertising.  The advertising, in the form of planning applications, will still have to be published in local and regional papers, the government is due to announce today , despite a review recommending a relaxation of the rules.

NIMBY - Not In My Backyard--is traditionally defined as what happens when people are, generally, in favor of something, but don't want the necessary infrastructure built anywhere they can see it. Bacon is delicious, but you don't want to live next door to a pig farm. Sustainable energy is great, but you don't want a wind turbine mucking up your views.

This year, fewer homes will be built in Britain than at any time since the second world war. Ministers will tell you that it's just a recession thing and that the moment the economy starts to recover they'll get back to delivering 3m homes by 2020

Rural communities anxious to protect their "chocolate box" scenery are delaying green energy initiatives in the UK, the former deputy prime minister said yesterday. John Prescott has called for councils to be obliged to locate a wind farm in their area.

Fifteen 400-foot wind turbines will be built after controversial plans were given the green light. Government inspectors gave the go-ahead for two wind farms near Rochdale and Bacup, despite strong opposition from conservation groups and local planners.

MPs and peers have returned from the summer recess with the tough prospect of 11 government bills still waiting to complete their passage through parliament.

Developers of wind turbines and other energy schemes need to learn to work with - not against - local communities to get their plans approved, according to a new UK government study.

Opposition to the carbon capture plan has contributed to a growing public backlash against renewable energy projects, raising fears that Europe will struggle to meet its low-carbon commitments. Last week, the Danish firm Vestas blamed British "nimbies" opposing wind farms for its decision to close its turbine factory on the Isle of Wight.

An abandoned Norfolk airfield and a cluster of Cornish china claypit villages are to become the first of a controversial new breed of "ecotowns", offering thousands of new homes built within a cutting-edge eco-friendly community.  The decision will be a blow to villagers who have campaigned against new developments at Rackheath, just outside Norwich, and St Austell in Cornwall.

Thirty local action groups opposed to the siting of wind turbines in their local communities have banded together to oppose what they describe as the "greenwash" of the wind industry.

Scheme to build the world's biggest offshore project is approved by backers E.ON, Dong Energy and Masdar

The majority of Not In My Backyard campaigns are against private residential housing schemes, a new survey indicates

Planners face an increasingly difficult struggle to get public acceptance of development projects, according to an annual survey of public attitudes.

Five key infrastructure developments were identified as central to Kent’s future regeneration: the extension of the High Speed 1 rail network to as far as Thanet; building a third Thames crossing on the lower Thames; the expansion of Kent International Airport at Manston; high-speed links to Gatwick Airport; and improvements to Dover port.