News: Community, environment, regeneration

29.07.2004 The Scottish Executive "must avoid a repeat of the fridge mountain fiasco" when it comes to electrical waste, environmentalists urged this week. The warning follows the launch of a consultation into how electronic waste such as TVs and computers should be dealt with. Scotland produces over 42,000 tonnes per year - most of which ends up dumped.

27.07.2004 Michael Meacher, the former environment minister, called for an official investigation yesterday into a nuclear fuel factory at Sellafield which has so far cost taxpayers more than £600m. He said that even as a minister he had been prevented from gaining access to the figures which the government used to justify opening the plant.

22.07.2004 Nearly two-thirds of the British population support tough new laws to prevent GM crops contaminating food and farming, a new NOP World survey for Friends of the Earth reveals. The poll results are published as scarecrows descend on Parliament to meet with supportive MPs and lobby the government to protect the countryside and keep fields GM-free.

21.07.2004 The government response to the Science and Technology Committee's report, Within REACH: the EU's new chemicals strategy, recognises the current impact that chemicals have on people, the environment and wildlife, but is weak in offering protection for them, says the WWF.

16.07.2004 Local environment quality minister Alun Michael has proposed measures to allow local authorities new powers to crack down on perpetrators of environmental crime, including littering, graffiti, fly-positng, vehicle dumping and other anti-social environmental offences.

14.07.2004 Environmentalists gave a cautious welcome today to the Chancellor's spending review, but warned that the devil will be in the detail. While welcoming the Chancellor's spending increases on the environment, particularly on reducing fuel poverty and increasing the efficiency of businesses using raw materials, they expressed concern about the new 10 year transport plan.

12.07.2004 A new report, published to coincide with an international conference in London, finds that while elsewhere cities invest in parks to boost health, wealth and quality of life, an estimated £1.3bn has been wiped off spending on UK parks since 1979. Planning minister Keith Hill will assure the conference that the government is committed to providing access to quality green spaces.

07.07.2004 A proposal for a large gas power station on Anglesey should be turned down on grounds of low energy efficiency, especially as it would use liquid natural gas (LNG) imported from the Middle East, say environment campaigners. Citing the dangers of LNG storage, Friends of the Earth is calling for reduced dependence on fossil fuels from the Middle East and a national energy storage strategy.

02.07.2004 The "problems of success" suffered by South East England are the focus of the first meeting of the new Commission on Sustainable Development in the South East. The Institute for Public Policy Research is joining forces with county councils and other stakeholders to examine how the region can balance economic success with environmental and quality-of-life concerns.

01.07.2004 A new scheme will boost NHS hospitals’ use of locally produced and/or organic food at St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, Tooting, South London, and three further pilot sites. The two year project is run by London Food Link (part of Sustain) in partnership with the Soil Association.