It made me laugh (bitterly) that on the radio this morning they said it was about 'young people's prosperity and future'. My arse it is, it's about relaxing planning permission so massively rich people can make lots of money by building crap houses on places where they weren't allowed to before. Besides, from my perspective as someone who earns a reasonable wage but can't see how they could ever buy a house, these new houses are either going to be pokey flimsy barely-affordable 'starter homes' or they're going to get rented out by rich buy-to-letters to mugs like me, while their so-called 'value' heads ever skywards. Yeah that's really helping young people. I'm not even a bloody young person. This Country Is Going To The Dogs. It makes me feel tired.

I agree with you wholeheartedly Sea Cat; I've always thought of the land where nature is allowed to flourish without interference as being 'sacred'. Often there are other aspects like history/prehistory that can be employed to protect it. Along with others, I've mentioned the long ongoing fight to save the land around Coate Water in Swindon from development. The battle has been going on for nearly a decade and earlier this year Swindon Borough Council once again refused the Developers appeal. However, Developers do not take no for an answer (in spite of a petition with 55,000 signatures) they are coming back in November to appeal again. A leading light in this campaign was interviewed in The Times on Saturday but unfortunately I wasn't able to get hold of a copy.

There is another stretch of green land known as the Front Garden which lies between Swindon and the motorway - the fight to protect this land was lost and it is now covered with box like houses that no-one wants to live in because of their proximity to the motorway. No doubt there will be people desparate for homes that will live there but myself, I'd rather live in a caravan.

I've also mentioned the Ramblers Association in a recent thread - perhaps they don't sound very rock and roll but they do work tirelessly to protect rights of way which would otherwise just disappear. Their current campaign is to progress the Marine and Coastal Access Act passed in 2009 - a legislation which would have allowed the designation of a continuous route for walkers along the entire coast of England. This present government is fast backtracking and if allowed to do so will delay the designation of the new route indefinitely.

Here's to the wrens, sparrows, blackbirds etc of our hedgerows - long may their song be heard.