Strong land-use planning controls which restrict greenfield development and reinforce green-belt protection should underpin future housing. We need to build on the earlier emphasis on urban renewal and understand better the long-term costs of urban sprawl – not least in terms of carbon emissions.

There remain vast areas of brownfield or previously developed land across the country, enough to provide more than 1m new homes and presenting a huge opportunity for environmental improvement. Read more…

The new guide to boiler insurance is ready! Take a look…

What has become clear is that after more than a decade of Labour rule the voice of the people is being disregarded. Research by Ipsos-MORI has found that 73% of the public who currently have a weekly collection oppose the introduction of fortnightly rubbish collections, and only 14% support fortnightly collections. Yet the government still presses ahead with culling this vital service, without any proper debate.

To add insult to injury these cutbacks have been against a backdrop of council taxes more than doubling in the last decade. So you pay more and get less under Gordon Brown. Labour ministers claim that this is a matter for “local discretion”, yet Whitehall guidance recommends that the bins are emptied fortnightly, and councils are financially penalised if they keep weekly collections. The government’s own waste prevention strategy explicitly advocates cutting the scope and frequency of bin collections. Read more…

For help with your boiler repair, or to understand boiler insurance a little better, check out Boiler Insurance and Repairs.co.uk. We also recommend A* Plumbers, for a quick local plumber to your area now!

home waste recycling by 2013?

At a briefing today to launch a new report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on dealing with waste, the authors said that converting waste could provide up to a fifth of the UK’s electricity needs in future and help the country meet its renewable energy targets.

But environmentalists have voiced concerns over the report, insisting that recycling rubbish is still the better option in terms of tackling climate change.

The UK produces more than 300m tonnes of waste every year, enough to fill the Albert Hall every two hours. Most of this is buried in landfill, though new EU legislation will require a 50% cut in the practice by 2013. Read more…

For more eco news check out GoEcoGo.

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