It's a big day today - not only are people voting for governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and for local authorities across the UK, there will be a referendum on a possible new voting system for electing MPs to Westminster. While it's not really for us to comment on the relative merits of the Alternative Vote and the first-past the post systems, we can discuss the significance of the local elections. Having pondered the elections for the devolved administrations yesterday, I thought I'd blog on the local elections in England and what they mean for wildlife.
Since the coalition Government came to power 354 days ago, what happens locally has become more important. The Big Society agenda and planning policy reform are both striving to bring localism to life - moving more power to people to enable them to make decisions locally. Local authorities themselves will have more discretion to spend their (albeit smaller) budgets and to help local people plan decide what happens on their doorstep.
Right now, Parliament is debating the Localism Bill. This is coming up with new arrangements for strategic planning, and new neighbourhood plans. The intention to get people involved in planning is obviously a good thing, but there must be adequate checks to ensure that localism does not become parochialism, and that the planning system still helps to protect the environment and ideally make it better. This is no small challenge. There are something like 18,000 neighbourhoods in England - the question for government will be how will they provide the information and incentives to encourage local people to choose to have more nature on their doorstep?
Finally, a note on those fires which have raged on heathland across the UK, from the Mournes in Northern Ireland, Torridon in Scotland to Swinley Forest part of the Thames Basin Heaths. A hot, dry spring has, perhaps unsurprisingly led to fires - through either deliberate or mindless acts. This is not good news given how fragmented and vulnerable these places already are. The fact that they are in sping when wildlife - such as ground-nesting nightjars, woodlarks and Dartford warblers - is breeding, brings more concerns. It is an obvious thing to say, but this is the time for people to take even more care when enjoying these fantastic places.