Trevor Bailey, who is a long-time resident of the village of Bourton in north Dorset gives the reasons why he accuses the government’s housing policy of creating an “unprecedented assault” – his words – on rural England, and Dorset of course, from housing developments. He expresses his anger and encourages all of us who feel the same not to sit idly by.
Housing developments increase the amount of light pollution in our night skies – there’s around a 10% increase in light pollution every year. Dr. Jenny Hall of York St John University is an advocate for dark skies, and also for a practice called “dusking” – she explains what that is, and the benefits for us all, and for the natural world.
And good news for Dorset’s precious Upton Heath reserve, one of the Dorset Wildlife Trust’s jewels in its crown. An urgent fund-raising campaign run just very recently by the Trust has succeeded in raising the money to buy a piece of heathland in the middle of the reserve and saved it from possible mineral extraction. The Trust’s Chief Executive, Brian Bleese, tells us about this.
Presented by Jenny Devitt.
Countryside Matters is broadcast on Mondays at 6pm.
