14 June 2011
Waveney MP Peter Aldous has welcomed the Coalition Government’s ambitious new plan to protect the natural environment in England.

On 6 June 2011, the Coalition published The Natural Choice – the first White Paper on the natural environment in over 20 years. The document sets out a series of innovative proposals to protect the environment:

  • New ‘Local Nature Partnerships’, to coordinate action to protect nature across local authorities and other local organisations.

  • Creating ‘Nature Improvement Areas’, to ensure targeted action to protect the environment in areas where there is the potential to restore nature on a significant scale. The Government has promised £7.5 million of initial support for 12 projects.

  • Protecting the natural environment in the planning system, including a presumption in favour of sustainable development and proposals for ‘biodiversity offsetting’, where conservation actions ‘offset’ the negative impact of development.

  • A new Green Area designation, which will allow local people to protect the green spaces they value.

  • Action to phase out the use of peat, in order to protect lowland peat habitats and significant carbon stores.


The package of proposals has been welcomed by respected organisations such as WWF, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB.

Peter Aldous said:

“These proposals won’t just help protect nature across the country, they are great news for residents in Waveney. The measures in the Government’s innovative plan would give local people more power to protect the green spaces they value and encourage the local authority and other local bodies to work much more closely together.

Although there is much to do to put these ideas into practice, they offer a fantastic opportunity to protect and enhance the natural environment in Waveney.’