The orchard-a peaceful pastoral scene of well-rounded, fruit-laden trees supporting a host of bees, birds and butterflies-is integral to the English summer idyll of popular imagination, yet the reality is that the tradition has declined by about 63% since 1950 and much of the fruit we eat is imported from abroad. A major inventory of orchards, by Natural England and the Peoples' Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), finds that only 9% of England's orchards are in excellent condition and that 45% are in poor condition.
The data will be used to monitor orchard creation and restoration, to inform planning officers and to press for an increased focus on them in agri-environmental schemes; currently, only 6,995 acres out of about 42,000 come under such schemes. ‘The bottom line is we're relying on cheap imports of fruit,' says Anita Burrough of PTES.
‘The current incentives are not enough. We need to push the idea of buying local fruit, which is much more interesting anyway.' Traditional orchard habitat was recognised as a Priority Habitat under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan; a study revealed three orchards in Worcestershire hosted 1,868 species.
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Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curvesAmid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
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Polluting water executives now face up to two years in prison, but will the new laws make much of a difference?The Government has announced that water company executives caught covering up illegal sewage spills could now be imprisoned for two years, under new laws — but many still have their doubts.
