News
London Resort developer accused of providing ‘insufficient’ information on traffic impact
Tuesday 25 May 2021
The developer behind the proposed London Resort theme park has been accused of failing to provide enough information about the impact of increased traffic on road and rail in north Kent and London. In damning submissions from leading transport organisations to the Planning Inspectorate, it is suggested that transport infrastructure could be overwhelmed by traffic […] Read more >
Bob Robin and a confiding kite
Friday 21 May 2021
The weekend just wouldn’t be the same without a prize shot from lensman Gordon Ridgewell – and this time we can offer you two! Over to Gordon… “I went out and looked over the garden fence because I thought I heard the red kites calling and when I looked round Bob Robin sat about six […] Read more >
A must-read for those who value the countryside
Thursday 20 May 2021
Dave Knight, CPRE Essex chairman, reviews a book that offers both a trip down memory lane and a warning that the provision of cheap food comes at a price It is very seldom I read a book of 286 pages in three days, but James Rebanks’s English Pastoral captivated me to do just that. […] Read more >
London Resort to make no ‘material’ changes to plans as CPRE joins other conservation groups in pushing for rethink
Wednesday 19 May 2021
The developer behind the proposed London Resort theme park on the Swanscombe peninsula is ploughing on with the project, although it will be changing its plans after the location’s designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). London Resort Holding Company has been granted an extra four months to submit revised documents in its […] Read more >
Estuary 2021: a celebration of the ‘unfashionable end of the Thames’
Tuesday 18 May 2021
You can enjoy more than 90 artworks and events during the Estuary 2021 festival, which begins on Saturday (May 22). Held along the 107-mile trail of the Thames estuary, it celebrates the lives, landscapes and histories found there through visual art, literature, music and film. It can be enjoyed for free, outdoors and in a […] Read more >
‘We have a Planning Bill that looks set to take us back to a deregulated dark age of development’
Monday 17 May 2021
The Planning Bill highlighted in last week’s Queen’s Speech (Tuesday, May 11) has been blasted by CPRE, the countryside charity. Tom Fyans, CPRE campaigns and policy director, said: “The Planning Bill looks set to prioritise developers’ needs over local communities, provide no new environmental safeguards and could slow the delivery of genuinely affordable homes in […] Read more >
This lovely picture of Littlebury proves the sun does still shine
Monday 17 May 2021
Gordon Ridgewell sent us this picture of “our village of Littlebury looking nice in the spring sunshine”. You must have been quick off the mark with this one, Gordon! As this piece is written, it is raining heavily, with the thunder still booming away in the distance. And that, sadly, seems to be the defining […] Read more >
A12 widening: consultation expected next month
Monday 17 May 2021
Public consultation on the widening of the A12 between Chelmsford and the A120 should begin next month (June), Highways England has announced. Before any work can begin on the scheme, the length of the proposed route will be “investigated for undiscovered archaeology and evidence of local cultural heritage buried in the earth”. Already some 28 […] Read more >
Rhapsody in Double Blue
Wednesday 5 May 2021
Today we bring you the photographic talents of not one but two lensmen – and their focus has fallen on bluebells, one of the county’s most-loved spring glories.Both contributors, Gordon Ridgewell and John Bloxsome, are well known to visitors to our website – and clearly neither are letting their standards drop! As ever, a photographic […] Read more >
Coming Home: how the Church is looking to release brownfield land for housing
Tuesday 4 May 2021
The Coming Home report made headlines when it was published in February. It set out the Church of England initiative to use land to create affordable housing. The Church owns considerable amounts of recyclable brownfield land in cities and towns and is developing a strategy to release it for affordable housing, especially for younger people […] Read more >