Press Release

Planning for the environment

9 March 2010

In response to the government's launch of two new consultations today (Tuesday) on planning, one for a healthy natural environment and another for climate change and renewable energy, Fiona Howie, head of planning and regions, says:

"An open and accessible countryside, as well as green spaces in urban areas, is critical to the nation's health and well being, and improving people's quality of life. It's encouraging that the consultation papers acknowledged this and seeks to protect and enhance our much loved countryside.

"While we recognise that planning for a low carbon future is important, we must not support development simply because it will have a low carbon footprint, other environmental impacts must also be considered. Good planning needs to address the challenge posed by climate change while also minimising other impacts such as visual or noise, so that the quality of our environment is not compromised. This is especially critical in our highly valued landscapes such as National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty."