Saving Special Places – Two Years On

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

1.  Dungeness – holds on to top spot with 53 posts
2. Special Protection Areas – up one place with 42 posts
3. Lydd Airport – in third spot with 30 posts
4. Planning – in from nowhere with 32 posts, but predicted last year as a hot topic!
5. The Birds Directive – it’s important and it’s holding firm at number 5!
6. Natura 2000 – forgotten what that is?  Here’s more.
7. Tana River Delta – biofuels policy and land-grabbing in Kenya
8. Important Bird Areas – obviously!
9. Hunterston – it runs and runs
10. Climate Change – it even has it’s own blog

The public inquiry into the proposed expansion of Lydd Airport is closing now ... with just the tense wait for the outcome.  The focus on Kenya and impact of biofuels policy on both the Tana River Delta and Dakatcha woodlands has been a compelling story (with a great measure of success for the campaign mounted by NatureKenya backed by the RSPB).

And then there’s planning – I said it would be big.  Now I’m not claiming Mystic Meg levels of perspicacity, it was a fairly easy spot! Not quite certain I thought it would go so large.  And don’t forget – in England the challenge in from of us is the EnPeePeeEf (the National Planning Policy Framework and you can add your views here.

Finally, a big thanks to those colleagues who have contributed material and most of all to you, dear reader, I hope you’ve found things to interest you – certainly, you will have found things to worry about and get annoyed at – and wherever possible we’ve tried to point you to actions you can take.

I’d love to hear from you – and in particular hear any suggestions of topics or issues (within the broad range of Saving Special Places) that you would like to see covered.

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