European badger
Badgers are the UK’s largest land predator and are one of the most well-known British species. They are famed for their black and white stripes and sturdy body, using their strong front paws to…
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Chwilio
Common cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are related to squids and octopuses – a group of molluscs known as cephalopods. You may have seen the chalky internal shell, called a cuttlebone washed up on beaches around the UK.…
My inspiration
Tony, environmentalist and author, gets inspiration from being outside. His dogs do too. Growing up with a passion for the natural world, progressing to ornithology, a deep and growing conviction…
Dowrog Common Nature Reserve Peatland Restoration
A £5m national peatland restoration project is about to undertake an important piece of work on Dowrog Common in Pembrokeshire – one of the seven LIFEquake sites. Dowrog Common Nature Reserve,…
Developments of National Significance (DNS)
Applications for some large infrastructure projects are decided by Welsh Ministers instead of the local planning authority. These include energy projects, roads, railways and airports, dams and reservoirs and certain waste facilities, subject to various thresholds, and are called Developments of National Significance (DNS).
Protected Areas
Many areas are specially protected for their wildlife value. They range from vast landscapes to single fields. Some are protected by law, and others by policy. The planning system should protect these areas and the wildlife that lives in them.
Skomer Island
With nearly 350,000 breeding pairs of Manx Shearwaters, over 41,500 Puffins, thousands of Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes and hundreds of Fulmars, Skomer is an internationally important seabird island.
It is also located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.
It is also located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.
Speaking at Planning Committee
Larger and more complex developments are usually decided by the planning committee. Each local planning authority will have its own rules as to which applications will be decided by the planning committee (called the scheme of delegation). You can find out if an application is going to be decided by committee by looking at the application information or by asking the case officer.
My internship
I'm Katie, a Biological Sciences undergraduate with the University of Liverpool and a volunteer with the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Later this year I will also be undertaking an internship with…
My happy place
When the stresses of life get too much, I take a walk through Attenborough Nature Reserve - a form of free therapy. The fresh air, the bird calls, the beauty of nature surrounding me, is calming.…
Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitat Regulation Assessment
The Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment (often called SA/SEA), and Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) are tests of the Local Development Plan (or Strategic Development Plan). They look at the effects of the plan on the environment, social, economic and cultural well-being, as well as the use of the Welsh language. The SA/SEA and HRA process runs alongside the Local Development Plan process, and you can comment on the SA/SEA and HRA themselves.
Lowland heath
Heathlands form some of the wildest landscapes in the lowlands, where agriculture and development jostle for space, containing and limiting natural processes. Once considered as waste land of…