A computerised simulation of possible flooding scenarios in Downpatrick has been used to help find the best way of reducing the risk of similar scenes to those witnessed in Autumn 2023, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has said.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are reminding women on popular medicines for weight loss and diabetes to use safe and effective contraception.
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has reiterated her commitment and support for the regeneration of Downpatrick and the railway heritage sector in visits to the Downpatrick and County Down Railway and the Downpatrick Regeneration Working Group.
A report detailing the percentage of electricity consumption generated from renewable sources was published today.
The Green Party has said that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently going through parliament, must protect nature and build much-needed new social housing.
The call comes as analysis suggests 5,000 of England’s key natural habitats are at high risk of being destroyed by development under the Bill as it threatens to make it easier for developers to build on areas that have historically been protected under UK and international law.
Reacting to the analysis, Adrian Ramsay MP, co-leader of the Green Party, said:
“This new analysis, suggesting thousands of important wildlife sites are at risk from the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, should serve as a wake-up call. Nature in the UK is already in serious decline, with one in six species at risk of extinction, and species declining by 19% since 1970.
“This Bill is dangerous, giving the green light for developers to pursue profit rather than meet the needs of people for homes and nature for protection. But we can have safe, warm homes in the communities we love at a price we can afford, and look after nature.”
Ramsay added:
“We can and we must tackle both the housing crisis and the nature crisis but as it stands, the legislation fails on both counts. It clearly weakens nature protection while doing precisely nothing to ensure that new housing is genuinely affordable. The government has refused to specify social housing targets, and has given developers a license to bulldoze nature.
“The government needs to be tougher, requiring developers to build a higher proportion of genuinely affordable homes to rent and to buy. We need the right homes, in the right place, at the right price. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill must ensure this.
“We need to strengthen the role of neighbourhood plans, giving local people opportunities to demand more social homes – affordable homes that people actually need – and listening to them when they raise concerns about threats to nature and green spaces. We all need nature in our backyards.”