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Geology can be turned into a practical and lucrative draw for tourism in the United Kingdom. The region's variety of geological formations offer visual and historical points of interest such as the Giant's Causeway basalt columns and the shale/gritstone layers of Cuilcagh Mountain. Marketing strategies can include informational leaflets and guides in cafes and other public places, with the language of these publications oriented to a non-geologist audience.

UK government administrators are studying ways on how to reduce car congestion in urban areas, particularly the London streets, and promote environment protection policies without adversely affecting public mobility. Deputy prime minister John Prescott has published a white paper limiting the use of private cars as a way of decongesting British roads. However, the move has been met with considerable opposition from other government agencies.

The theory that European Union institutions impose stricter environmental regulations compared to their UK counterparts is disputed. Both the EU and the UK laws allow individuals to challenge environment-related decisions if they can prove 'direct and individual concerns' to themselves. However, challenging executive decisions remain more difficult in the UK because of the attitudes of presiding judges. It is also shown that individual concerns are irrelevant for environmental problems that are global in scale.

Local authorities in the UK reveal that they are having a difficult time keeping up with the financial pressures associated with environmental protection. Many county councils complain that budgeting should not be limited to annual undertakings in order for them to successfully complete environmental assessment projects. Meanwhile, the introduction of additional European environmental laws may force the UK government to provide the necessary funding to meet the demands set forth by such legislation.

The UK Government and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have adopted a marine policy statement, paving the way for a full set of marine plans intended [...]

Byline: A.K. Barbour The 'environmental revolution' is now just over twenty years old. During this period thinking and action in the United Kingdom have undergone their own revolution under the separate pressures of scientific and technological developments, public concerns and political responses. These influences have led to the Environment Protection Act, 1990. In the first part of this paper, I shall review, from an industrial standpoint, the likely impact of this major act. In the second part, I shall deal with some specific issues for non-ferrous metals, particularly the urgent need to increase recycling and some of the criteria, which I judge, are necessary for this to happen.

A study uses structural equation modeling to analyze the impact of environmental regulations on innovation and performance in the U.K. industrial sector. Results reveal that environmental regulations have a significant positive impact on the economic performance of the industrial sectors in the U.K., but that they have a negative impact on innovation and thereby, their economic performance of the sectors, in the short run.

The Scottish Government has denied accusations that its waste reduction strategy has been undermined by a new report. Environment secretary Richard Lochhead last month unveiled the SNP's zero waste plan, [...]

Scottish ministers are to consider providing further support for domestic renewables to cope with 'unprecedented' demand. Energy minister Jim Mather made the announcement as it emerged that the home renewables [...]

Byline: Peter Burt Cash shortages caused by the credit crunch will force the UK's next government to choose between replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system and meeting flagship social policy goals. Replacing Trident will be a high risk project because a long lead-in time means that changing circumstances may make new nuclear weapons far less relevant to national security needs by the time they enter service. Global climate change is emerging as a major future security challenge, but it is not clear what role nuclear weapons can play in addressing this threat. Expenditure on nuclear weapons could consume resources that might otherwise be used in the fight against climate change and climate change is itself one of the drivers which will influence the long-term affordability of nuclear weapons. The credit crunch is likely to magnify the risks associated with replacing Trident and compound pressure on the affordability of Britain's nuclear weapons.

Byline: Peter Doran Anticipating a new prominence for the carbon market and lifestyle change in post-2012 implementation of ambitious carbon mitigation targets in OECD countries, including the UK, this paper draws on Foucauldian scholarship to support an argument that personal carbon trading (PCT) may be consistent with New Labour's understanding of the role of the 'consumer citizen' in modern Britain, and that PCT may also prove to be an advanced tool for triggering and supporting some of the elusive behaviour change required by the demands of sustainable consumption in the context of climate change. The article proposes that PCT sits at the apex of a number of debates of interest to political ecologists, including climate change, sustainable consumption and individual freedom in an era of environmental constraints.

While total carbon emissions are dropping, those from transport are rising and now account for a third of the UK's output. James Gleave looks at what transport planners can do [...]

The Scottish government has launched a pilot project in the Sound of Mull to shape its first marine bill. Consultation and drop-in sessions will be held this month to provide [...]

Radical approaches to planning in the Norfolk Broads will be needed to counter the effects of climate change, the Broads Authority has said. The authority explained that it would 'need [...]

Renewable energy groups have been downbeat about the draft national policy statements issued last week but ports interests believe that they hit the right note, Matt Scotland learns. The national [...]

The change of use of farmland in Wiltshire to lorry trailer storage has been rejected after an inspector found that economic and transport aims are outweighed by harm to an [...]

A national policy statement (NPS) on carbon capture and storage is urgently needed if the UK is to meet its emissions targets, engineers have claimed. The Institution of Civil Engineers [...]

An environmental coalition wants local development frameworks to have renewable energy targets in its draft guidance proposals. The Planning and Climate Change Coalition featuring more than 30 organisations, including planners [...]

Email your queries or your replies to earlier queries to casebook@haymarket.com or post them to Development Control Casebook Forum, DCS Ltd, Casebook Suite 1, Fullers Court, 40 Lower Quay Street, [...]

Fyson on ... the imperative for government to harness personal responsibility in climate change strategies. Just as the nation marks the 70th anniversary of the Second World War, everyone is [...]

The public cannot fully access more than 1,500km of England's coastline, according to latest research by Natural England. Its study found that there is no satisfactory legally secure access along [...]

Ministers have claimed that local planning authorities are inconsistently using guidance to reduce the length and number of car trips. A low-carbon strategy launched last week says that vehicle fuel [...]

Berkshire planners are having to rethink their 20-year waste strategy after serious questions were raised over its evidence base. Inspector Stephen Pratt, examining the Berkshire minerals and waste core strategy, [...]