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United Kingdom: Ministers get ready to go for green-belt grab
Posted by Independent: Matt Chorley on August 26th, 2012
Independent: Building on green belt land around towns and cities will "irreversibly damage the countryside" yet fail to deliver the Government's hoped-for economic growth, the former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion warns today, as ministers face charges that they are ignoring the needs of Britain's rural communities.
So desperate is the Treasury in its search for growth that George Osborne is said to want to redesignate protected land to kickstart large-scale housing schemes. Developers wanting to build on...
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No 10 asks ministers: Can we now support £30bn Severn barrage?
Posted by Independent: Matt Chorley on August 18th, 2012
Independent: David Cameron has ordered ministers to consider backing a £30bn project to harness the tidal power of the Severn estuary, as the Government scrambles to find big infrastructure projects that could help kick-start growth.
The Prime Minister has asked Ed Davey, the Lib Dem Energy Secretary, and Oliver Letwin, the Tory policy chief, to look in detail at a new proposal for a barrage which, supporters claim, could limit the environmental impact on world-famous wildlife habitats.
With the potential...
Britain’s supply of green energy soars
Posted by Independent: Matt Chorley on July 1st, 2012
Independent: Britain is being powered by record levels of green energy, after a surprise increase in electricity generated from wind, sun and waves. Renewables accounted for 11 per cent of the UK's electricity in the first three months of 2012, compared with 7.7 per cent from January to March 2011. There were big rises in power from onshore wind farms, while generation from hydroelectric and bioenergy plants also rose sharply, putting Britain much closer to meeting its legally binding commitment to get 15 per...