Better than an octopus? We’ll see…

With Euro 2012 now under way our minds will turn to football – won’t they? 13 of the 16 teams are members of the EU and therefore have designated sites as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive and Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive. After the last World Cup where a German…

What’s behind it?

It’ll be a while, no doubt, before the Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith replies to my MP, Louise Mensch, to tell me the basis of the Chancellor‘s decision to review the Habitat Regulations that he announced, with (it seemed to me) a certain degree of vindictive delight, in his Autumn Statement. At the moment I can…

Dogger Bank – I wonder what is happening

This blog has raised the plight of the Dogger Bank in the past.  That started with a Defra announcement of the listing of the UK portion of the Dogger Bank as a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive a couple of months ago. Regular readers may recall that after the proud announcement…