Malmesbury King named Best British Banger - Telegraph

Malmesbury King named Best British Banger - Telegraph: "The Malmesbury King, a coarse-cut sausage made from shoulder of pork with herbs and ginger, beat five other shortlisted entries to win the typically British prize, awarded by Country Life magazine.
Mr Thomas said the meat – sourced only from quality pigs – was minced just once before being hand-mixed with rosemary, thyme, parsley and ginger, and piped into natural hog casings.
A panel of judges picked the Malmesbury King as the winner because it had 'the most pleasing, rustic, herby appearance and a satisfying, piquant taste'.
Mr Thomas, owner of Family Butcher in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, will now see his country bangers served in the Bar Boulud restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental, a five-star hotel in Knightsbridge, west London."

Troublesome Teenager

South West CLA: "The teenager in question is the Common Agricultural Policy and the behavioural expert handing out the advice was Prof. Allan Buckwell. Director of Policy at the CLA, the Country Land and Business Association.

“Parents always argue about how to handle difficult quarrelsome teenagers and this one is no different - there are some heated discussions brewing up over the reforms which will take the CAP into its teen years from 2013 to 2020. ”"

South West CLA has a blog and twitter - Keep up to date

here and @CLAsouthwest

New Local CLA Blog

South West CLA team now has a blog - give a visit

Andrew Stunell: farm buildings should be used for residential homes - Telegraph

Andrew Stunell: farm buildings should be used for residential homes - Telegraph: "Andrew Stunell, the Communities Minister, has called on farmers and local councils to work together to encourage more families to move to the countryside.
He has written to local authorities in rural areas asking them to amend their planning policies to allow agricultural buildings to be adapted for residential use.
Mr Stunell said: “Farmers are the custodians of our countryside, managing thousands of acres of rural land across England.
“But when they want to make disused buildings available for new homes, they can often face an uphill battle to get planning permission in the face of their council's development plans.
"As more young people are unable to afford to live in rural areas and village schools, shops and pubs struggle to survive, farmers are ideally placed to help bring the community together to help reverse this trend.
“That’s why I want to make it easier for farmers to offer homes on the farm for local people."

CLA joins with green groups to call for action on heat - Country Land & Business Association

CLA joins with green groups to call for action on heat Country Land & Business Association: "The CLA yesterday (12 October) joined a surprising alliance of disparate groups outside Parliament at a demonstration in support of renewable heat.

The Association got together with Friends of the Earth and other green and business organisations to call on the Government to honour its promise to introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive. To mark the occasion, a seven-metre diameter solar-powered balloon emblazoned with the slogan, 'Heat is half the CO2 problem' was inflated outside Parliament.

CLA President William Worsley said: 'We welcome the chance to work with Friends of the Earth and the other groups involved to highlight the case for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)."

Funding wildlife must not put new burden on rural businesses, says CLA - Country Land & Business Association

Funding wildlife must not put new burden on rural businesses, says CLA - Country Land & Business Association: "The CLA today (Tuesday, 12 October) sounded a note of caution about RSPB proposals for new taxes to protect the environment.

The Association said that the plans – in a report entitled Financing nature in an age of austerity – could put even greater pressure on rural businesses at an already-tough time."

Landowners Take a Look on the Bright Side

South West landowners are being offered the chance to look on the bright side of life – at a seminar which will explore the opportunities and pitfalls of generating power from the sun.



CLA South West Rural Surveyor, Graham Clark, says the technology for generating electricity from ‘photovoltaic’ solar panels has been around for some years – but, until now, with relatively modest uptake in the UK.



“What’s changed is the introduction of Feed-in-Tariffs earlier this year. These provide guaranteed payments for every unit of renewable power produced over a 25 year period and have significantly improved the economics of solar PV,” said Mr Clark.



The event, which is being organised by the CLA, is being held at Lanhydrock Golf Club, Bodmin, on November 15 and brings together professional advisers who will discuss the solar PV technology and the options for landowners plus planning, financial and legal issues. In addition, there will be opportunities for delegates to hear from and speak directly to leading companies who provide solar panels and others who are looking for land in the South West on which to develop ‘solar parks’



More sunlight, says Mr Clark, means more power generation – therefore solar PV is a more viable option in the sunnier south west. PV also attracts higher Feed in Tariffs than the other renewable technologies - however, he warned that ‘joining rates’ start to fall in 2012 so landowners should consider their options soon.



The seminar will help people assess the most suitable option for their land or buildings, whether they should develop the project themselves and benefit directly from the power generated and from the tariff or whether they should lease land out to a solar developer.



“We will be discussing all the issues including getting planning permission and a grid connection - both significant hurdles to be cleared, but, depending on the circumstances, a solar PV project can not only reduce the exposure of a business to likely future rises in electricity prices but also become a profitable enterprise in its own right.”



Shining a Light on Photovoltaics takes place on Monday 15 November from 9.00 am – 1.45 pm at Lanhydrock Golf Club, Bodmin, Cornwall and places cost £15 for CLA members and £25 non-CLA members. Details are available from the CLA on 01249 700200.

Your weekend walk... Northumberland - mirror.co.uk

Your weekend walk... Northumberland - mirror.co.uk

By Adrian Monti; Judy Yorke 8/10/2010
Welcome to the weekend!
This autumn's nine-day long Haltwhistle Walking Festival starts tomorrow with walks ranging from easy to strenuous and from four to 14 miles in length.
A six-and-half mile walk in the countryside takes in old quarries, lime kilns and a section of Hadrian's Wall. It starts from Haltwhistle Market Place at 11am and costs £6.
For details on other rambles during the festival, visit www.haltwhistlewalkingfestival.org.


Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/life-style/kids-and-family/2010/10/08/your-weekend-walk-northumberland-115875-22617391/#ixzz11mmorwsL

CLA members win at ‘biggest-ever’ celebration of farming

CLA members win at ‘biggest-ever’ celebration of farming

CLA members celebrated success last night (7 October) at the 2010 Farmers Weekly Awards with wins from four out of 16 categories.



Members were presented with their awards in front of a 1200-strong audience at the "biggest-ever celebration of farming" hosted by TV and radio presenter Liza Tarbuck, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Stephen Temple, of Norfolk, won the award Green Energy Farmer of the Year. His mixed arable, dairy and cheese business has three biomass boilers to heat the grain store, provide hot water for the milking parlour and cheese making unit as well as an anaerobic digester using slurry, maize silage and whey to make methane.

The award for Countryside Farmer of the Year was won by Brian and Patrick Barker of Suffolk. The young cousins are inspirational in their practical approach to combining profitable farming with highly effective conservation work. Their visionary scheme linking and improving habitats on the 550ha family farm by taking land out of production has also increased average yields and overall profitability.

Diversification Farmer of the Year was awarded to David and Jayne Newman of Stroud Hill Park in Cambridgeshire. They operate a caravan park and restaurant serving their own lamb, pork and beef with a paintball site and fishing lake.

Arable Farmer of the Year went to John Goodchild, manager of the Bartlow Estate in Cambridgeshire, owned by CLA regional vice chairman Tim Breitmeyer, justly rewarding 35 years dedication and hard work as well as being a tribute to the team which supports him.

CLA President William Worsley said: "All of the CLA member finalists for a coveted Farmers Weekly award have made an outstanding contribution to the rural economy.

"Our congratulations go to Brian, Patrick, David, Jayne, Stephen and John! I am delighted so many CLA members and estates have been recognised for their efforts in successfully running their rural businesses."

CLA South West Regional News - Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011 - 2026

CLA South West Regional News - Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011 - 2026

Wiltshire council is consulting on a new Local Transport Plan for publication by the end of March 2011. Producing a new LTP is a statutory requirement.
The Wiltshire LTP 2011 - 2026 is made up of
1) A long-term transport strategy that seeks to:

· support economic growth;
· reduce carbon emissions;
· contribute to better safety, security and health;
· promote equality of opportunity; and
· improve quality of life and promote a healthy natural environment.
2) A shorter-term implementation plan based on a realistic assessment of available funding.
3) A number of supporting strategies and technical documents.
In addition, the LTP provides the framework for all other organisations with a direct or indirect involvement in transport in Wiltshire.

We would welcome your views on the draft Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011 - 2026 (LTP3). There are four specific questions in the executive summary of the main document. Other specific questions can be found in the executive summaries of the freight strategy, public transport strategy and road safety strategy, which are all attached as appendices. In addition or instead, you can make comments on any section of the draft LTP3.

A copy is available at http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal/ltp/ltp3
Paper copies of the summary document and a reference copy of the LTP will also be available from all libraries and main Council offices.

Alternatively, comments can be emailed to transportplanning@wiltshire.gov.uk or in writing to:
Sustainable Transport Group, Wiltshire Council, County Hall, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8JD.

The consultation period runs to 5pm on 26th November, 2010.
Please be aware that all responses will be publicly available and cannot be treated as confidential.

CLA South West Regional News - Mineral Consultation Extended

CLA South West Regional News - Mineral Consultation Extended : Due to considerable interest in the consultation on a list of potential sites for future sand and gravel extraction in Wiltshire and Swindon, the deadline for submitting comments has been extended until October 31.

This consultation exercise is the first opportunity for communities and stakeholders to assist the council in checking the facts and improving on the information already gathered on the potential sites.

At this early stage there are no plans to develop any of the sites outlined in the consultation document. It is important to stress that the consultation document lists all sites put forward for consideration by landowners and the minerals industry and they should in no way be viewed as the council's 'preferred options'.

We would encourage anyone wishing to view and comment on the consultation document to use the council's special consultation website: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal

The consultation document is also available to view at Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council main offices and libraries throughout the county and borough.

Landowners play a crucial role in wildlife conservation | Comment is free | The Guardian

Landowners play a crucial role in wildlife conservation | The Guardian:
Farmers and foresters must be allowed to continue their land management methods

William Worsley

The Making Space for Nature review rightly says more must be done to protect our wildlife networks as "England's nature reserves, national parks and protected areas are failing in four out of five key quality benchmarks" (England failing to protect its wildlife, says review, 24 September).

The authors of the review argue that England's wildlife protection areas are "not effective enough at preserving species due to poor management", but do not give sufficient recognition to the huge contribution that farmers and land managers already make in helping to boost wildlife. The report will strongly influence Britain's first white paper on the natural environment in 20 years and, as our members own or manage approximately half the rural land across England and Wales, it is vital our local knowledge is taken into account.

Many of the habitats we value today are the outcome of generations of farming and woodland management. Downland meadows and upland pastures with the wildlife they contain are the results of managed grazing systems. Flower-rich meadows don't just happen, but demand careful, knowledge-based management. In the past, warreners looked after rabbits on heathland, reedcutters worked the reed beds to produce thatching and hundreds were employed in woods cutting down hazel coppice for products such as sheep hurdles.

Of course, as agricultural technology and policy priorities changed over time, some environmental services were lost. The environmentally rich land produced in the past became a byproduct of commercial activities. But as these activities are squeezed, the costs of managing the environment becomes more of a strain.

It is only farmers and foresters who can create and manage the hay meadows, ponds and hedgerows on which wildlife depends. Only they can produce and protect the sort of environment we all want to see in the countryside.

Sadly, many of the review's recommendations will penalise those who already manage their land sensitively for wildlife by, for example, unreasonably increasing planning restrictions on land that could be "important for the future of wildlife and people". Wildlife management has an economic cost, and if rural businesses are prevented from evolving to meet the changing demands of the marketplace, they will not be in a position to bear the costs of wildlife management, so delivery will decline.

The good news is that the review supports the need for retaining government environmental payments, as they have shown that landowners can achieve good results when given the right encouragement. More still could be done if farmers and land managers were allowed to receive other funding, currently only available to conservation groups.

Sir John Lawton, who led the review, has said "between £0.6bn and £1.1bn is needed to help rebuild nature in England". This matches the findings of the government's Land Use Policy Group study published in November 2009, showing that the cost of achieving the expected environmental standards is three times the amount farmers and foresters are currently being paid for such delivery.

Massive public spending cuts and the scrapping of Defra quangos poses a challenge for "big society" to provide the incentives and means to deliver the needed wildlife networks. Whatever they turn out to be, they will have to engage the farmers and foresters who all manage most of England's rural land.

Could cloud computing revolutionise food supply? - Telegraph

Could cloud computing revolutionise food supply? - Telegraph: "As British Food Fortnight draws to a close, the power of cloud computing is being harnessed to malke local food more available to local markets"