August 14th, 2009
British Film Director and green celebrity Guy Ritchie who resides in Ashcombe House, near Salisbury, has submitted plans to Wiltshire Council to make his 18th Century property ‘more self-sufficient’.
It is his intention to install greenhouses, vegetable plots and fruiteries at the £9 million estate, which was given to him following his divorce from Madonna.
The part-walled gardens leading from the back door to the staff building will be turned over to vegetables and given a row of greenhouses to produce vines, fruit, early vegetables and seedlings. The low-level soil heating will be provided by green energy, via the woodchip boiler situated within the staff block.
The application went onto to state that the ‘produce from the greenhouses will be used on the estate, all part of a very admirable effort to make the estate more self-sufficient and sustainable.
Meanwhile on the other side of life….
The growing popularity of allotments has meant that local Councils, Poole Council included are seeking ways of providing more allotments.
The Poole model provides a good example of the national allotment shortage. Currently there are eight allotment sites in the borough containing 409 plots. However, there are 715 people on the waiting list who could have to wait 18 years before being able to plant their own fruit and veg – or may never get one at all.
“Waiting lists in Poole are considerable and if the current turnover of plots is maintained some applicants may never be allocated a plot in their lifetime,” said a report that went before councillors.
It seems that a simple patch of land to grow your own fruit and veg is yet another shining example of the great divide in the UK today.
Tags: Allotments, Green celebrity, grow your own, Guy Ritchie, Local Council | Posted in Local Councils, Sustainability
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July 30th, 2009
The competition to find the most expensive local UK bus journey launched by Campaign for Better Transport concludes tomorrow.
For last minute entries visit the Campaign for Better Transport website, www.bettertransport.org.uk or email journey details (distance travelled or time taken or destinations served), and cost, along with your name and email address to campaigns@bettertransport.org.uk.
Campaign for Better Transport hopes to shame the Government into bringing down fares by investing more in buses. The person who submits the most expensive journey will win a £50 voucher.
Sarah Matthews, a campaigner in the group, said,
“More people would travel by bus if it were cheaper. Higher bus use would reduce traffic, making it easier for us to get around, and be better for the environment. Affordable buses are also a lifeline for many people, making it possible for them to get to work, the shops, the GP and other services.”
Tags: bus fares, Campaign for Better Transport, government support, public transport | Posted in Climate Change, Local Councils, News, Transport
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July 26th, 2009
There is public outrage in Poole, Dorset as cyclists feel they are being victimised.
Many residents cycle along the promenade at Sandbanks, not only because they care about the environment, want to stay fit and healthy, but purely for pleasure and now Bournemouth Council have seen fit to introduce the draconian, patronising and anti-environmental measure of using speed cameras!
In this day and age would it not be far more responsible for our councils to encourage this form of environmentally friendly commuting and find some sort of compromise rather that alienating the cyclists?
Tags: anti-environmental, Bournemouth, cycling, Cyclists, Sandbanks | Posted in Local Councils, Transport
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June 1st, 2009
Rather naively I simply assumed that wind generated energy was a great idea: no burning of coal or oil or dangerous nuclear technology, just wind – that has to be a good thing surely!? I have to admit that now I am not so sure.
DART: Dorset Against Rural Turbines has a great website and it has turned my initial preconception regarding wind turbines on its head. DARTs prime concern is the proposal to erect four wind turbines at East Stoke, clearly visible from the historic town of Wareham.
Personally I struggle with the aesthetic argument, not because it not a very valid point, but because it has never stopped anyone before. Power stations are not exactly easy on the eye, neither are electricity pylons, but governments do not refuse their construction because they are ugly blots on the landscape. Wind Turbines are not pretty either, but will that really stand in the way of our energy needs?
DART’s money over common sense argument is particularly interesting. If the science does not stack up, then why is the government continuing with the scheme? The simple answer appears to be £’s. Surely we have wasted enough time and money on destructive forms of energy generation than to go down another dead-end with this one?
Apparently British Gas sending out 52 million energy saving light bulbs across the UK, will slash carbon emissions by nine million tonnes whereas the most optimistic estimate of a wind farm’s carbon saving is only 20,000 tonnes. Meaning we would need to build 450 wind farms to achieve the same carbon saving as changing our light bulbs! As well as these and other frightening statistics on the DART site there are also some shocking pictures of birds cleanly cut in half … again something I had never considered.
I admit it – I’m confused. Is wind energy really a bad thing? Should we be concentrating on wave generating power or will that electrify our fishes? I genuinely want to know. Any comments very welcome…
Tags: alternative energy, British Gas, carbon emissions, energy saving, light bulbs, Wind Turbines | Posted in Climate Change, Local Councils
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May 10th, 2009
It seems even on a local and relatively small scale level, people are standing back in absolute awe at the catastrophic environmental mistakes local Councils are able to make, seemingly unstoppable in their ignorance and unanswerable to their blunders.
Whilst at Governmental level Gordon Brown, for all of his many, failings, is waking up to environmental sensibilities:
”Environmental sustainability is not an option – it is a necessity. We have a compelling and ever more urgent duty of stewardship to take care of the natural environment and resources on which our economic activity and social fabric depends…”
It seems many Councils agree in principle, but clearly think this ‘stewardship’ does not apply to them.
Torbay Council is a shining example of this. The decision to demolish Rock Walk – aside from the fact that it’s a major feature on the sea front of what is essentially a tourist destination, supposedly renowned for its beauty - the wanton demolition of trees and foliage hundreds of years old, has proved catastrophic and has enraged local people.
The cliff face was striped because ‘the trees might fall down’. This has not only irrevocably scarred the landscape, but shock horror – it turns out it was the trees that were holding the cliff face up, Doh!!
Tags: Gordon Brown, Rock Walk, Torbay Council, Trees | Posted in Climate Change, Local Councils
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