It’s the Saving Special Places blog’s first birthday. We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last year – both from the UK and further afield, from the Severn to the Serengeti. Last September Lydd and Hunterston were already prominent cases, one post was entitled ‘Lydd Airport, this one will run and run’, how true.
The top ten most tagged topics have been:
Dungeness 28
Lydd Airport 21
Special Protection Areas 18
Natura 2000 sites 17
The Birds Directive 16
Climate Change 14
Hunterston 10
Severn Estuary 10
Purple herons 10
Important Bird Areas 10
I’ve a sneaky feeling Dungeness (hopefully with returning purple herons and a successful public inquiry) and Hunterston will both be in the top ten this time next year. We were expecting more news on the future of tidal power in the Severn later this week, but we hear that the coalition Government’s report into the feasibility of the options is to be delayed for a further month. Here’s some reporting in yesterday’s Observer giving a clear steer on the what the report is likely to say.
So where are the hotspots going to be in the next year? The likely rejection of a massive tidal power-generating barrage on the Severn should send a clear message to the proponents of similar structures on the estuaries of North West England, especially the Mersey. Our hope is that the end is in sight of proposals for massive (and massively damaging) barrages based on yesterday’s thinking and outmoded engineering. What the failure of the Severn barrage should signal is a boost to innovation that aims to harness tidal energy without sacrificing our natural heritage.
(If you are reading this in the North West you can find out more at a meeting on Thursday 9 September at the University of Liverpool’s Rendall Building (here’s a map) at 7:30pm. You will be able to hear the latest on proposals to harness the tidal energy of the Mersey and find out how you can get involved in shaping this important debate).
Estuaries are likely to be a major theme and the Humber will feature strongly with major port proposals having profound implications for the beleaguered natural environment of the Humber’s South Banks.
The planning system is central to ensuring that our natural world is effectively protected. The last year has seen yet another major reform of planning, the dust hasn’t yet settled on what the implications of these changes will be but what is certain is that there will be a crucial role for the RSPB to ensure that nature has a voice.
I’m delighted that each month this blog is attracting over a thousand readers – what have been your high (or low) lights of the last year? Are there issues to do with Saving Special Places that deserve more coverage?