Insights & Reports

There’s currently a debate underway in the UK around where plantation forestry i.e. fast-growing timber producing forestry, fits into the voluntary carbon market system, the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC). Similar discussions are being held in other parts of the world, as globally we analyse how to deal with the climate change challenge we all face.

A ‘blessing’ of the UK’s cool and wet oceanic climate is that it allows for the formation of peatland, fondly referred to as ‘bogs’.

The trajectory of the carbon offset market looks set, with the launch sequence initiated.

A growing commitment towards climate change reversal and managing natural capital and biodiversity is ramping up in a way which has made the last five years look like a warm up.

The government is consulting on revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was last updated in 2019, to include guidance on the altering or removal of statues, plaques and memorials. We explain what the process could look like if the revisions are accepted following the end of the consultation period on 27 March 2021.

Bidwells' head of planning, Mike Derbyshire, explains how the spatial framework from MHCLG could provide a viable vision for the growth of the knowledge economy across the Arc.

Following government release of the draft National Model Design Code (NMDC), a consultation is currently underway with the deadline for responses to be submitted by 27 March. Our heritage and design team outlines the proposed requirements set out in the design code in our latest blog.

This weekend, when we least expected it, the Government released their latest planning reform. The latest consultation is a real ‘beauty’ and adds some exciting content to the Building Better, Building Beautiful commissions’ ‘Living with Beauty’ report.

One way you can improve your impact upon the environment is through your home.

As the 12-month transition period for Brexit passed on 31 December, and the UK managed to avoid a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario, what does a new trade agreement look like for the farming business? Ian Ashbridge explains what impact the new deal has on the agriculture industry.

Lockdown has led us to look more closely at our local environment and in April and May, we were all rather more bound to making our way on foot or bicycle. We explain what this rare attention to our surroundings means for the heritage world, particularly relating to two normally exceptional areas of planning: spotlisting and its nemesis, Certificates of Immunity (COI).

The biggest surprises in the Government’s Path to Sustainable Farming were the scale and speed of cuts to the Basic Payment Scheme, or Direct Payments as they are commonly referred to in the Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP). Ian Ashbridge shares his insight on what these cuts mean for farming businesses and sustainability.