Natural England

Natural England defends wildlife and beautiful places but has had a torrid first year.

Peter Marren reports on the government body that was set up to improve conservation but faces budget cuts and internal dissent

(c) The Guardian
7th November 2007

Nobody is suggesting that it has been an easy first 12 months for the government body that "works for people, places and nature". There are high expectations that Natural England (NE) - formed a year ago by the merger of English Nature, the Countryside Agency and the part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) concerned with environmental payments - will become rather more than the sum of its parts. Government expects benefits from efficiency and savings, and it also wants a strong, confident agency where nature, access and sustainable land use are key to a cleaner, greener future.

At its birthday party nine days ago, NE's chief executive, Helen Phillips, counted the early achievements. It has won a measure of agreement from all sides for the government's plan to extend public access to all parts of the English coastline, citing the project as a working example of the "holistic" approach with advantages for access, landscape and wildlife.

Another fresh idea is "green infrastructure"....

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Conservation Guardian

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