LAND & NATURE

LAND AND NATURE

LN01 Land, the primary source of all real wealth, is the common heritage. We acknowledge that land is held in trust by human society on behalf of other species and future generations, and that land should not be treated as a capital investment nor traded for speculative profit.

LN02 The Green Party believes that the unearned benefits from land-use should be shared amongst the community, and that the community should continue to collect such unearned benefits through Land Value Taxation.

LN03 We believe that all future building should be integrated into the natural environment and so will look to build or encourage new garden cities, eco-villages and communal living projects.

LN04 Housing densities should be increased by high quality design incorporating a reduction in road and parking space, keeping vehicles to the edge of site wherever possible. Car-free developments should also be encouraged, especially in areas close to amenities or with good public transport.

LN05 We will encourage pedestrianisation of shopping areas within cities, towns and villages, and encourage the car-free developments through planning and financial incentives.

LN06 A Green Government would give power over land use decisions to local communities working on guidelines about communal utility and environmental impact.

LN07 We will ensure that companies, Governments and individuals are held both collectively and individually responsible for any damage they cause to the environment.

LN08 The Green Party will give local authorities additional powers to allow them to compulsory purchase buildings Historic England deem to be at risk due to owner complacency.

LN09 We believe that any property rights end when that property is not used over a long time and so support adverse possession laws.

LN10 We believe in the Right To The City and will expand participatory planning and participatory budgeting to all urban areas.

LN11 The Green Party supports the mass restoration of ecosystems through rewilding - returning land from the domination of humans to the natural ecological processes that came before. We aim for at least 100,000 hectares of land designated and protected as wilderness and 30% of the UK's seas as no-take zones so natural life can return.

LN12 Where there is local support this will involve reintroducing and protecting apex predators and keystone species such as the beaver, wild boar, wolf and lynx which are vital to ensuring healthy ecosystems, restoring forest and reducing artificial influences upon nature.

LN13 We will ensure that legislation is adequate to prevent wildlife crime and that there are sufficient resources to enforce the legislation and prosecute those who carry out wildlife crime.

LN14 The Green Party will work towards a target of zero waste. This will encompass producer responsibility, eco-design, waste reduction, reuse and recycling, with the aim of eliminating altogether waste sent to landfill or incinerators.

LN15 The Green Party will invest in waste management and recycling such that unnecessary waste is avoided and efficient reuse, recycling and composting or digestion of waste is maximised.

LN16 The Green Party will seek to make industry invest in resource saving technology by:
  • minimising waste during manufacturing processes;
  • the manufacture of long life products which can be repaired or reused;
  • greater conservation of energy in industry; and
  • the development of anti-pollution devices.
LN17 We will continue to support the Natural Resource Tax and other measures introduced by the Green Party in the Natural Resources Act to ensure that the cost of using natural resources takes account of the environmental costs of their extraction or harvesting, processing and disposal.

LN18 We will aim to ensure through planning that everyone lives within five minutes’ walk of a green open space, and ensure local authorities have the resources to extend and maintain local parks.

LN19 We will protect, expand, increase funding for and improve non-car access to National Parks.

LN20 The Green Party will halt all damaging road construction within National Parks, in favour of the enhancement of public transport and improved access for walkers and cyclists.

LN21 The Green Party considers the use of National Parks for artillery ranges and other forms of destructive military training incompatible with the designation of a National Park. We will press for the earliest withdrawal of inappropriate military training within National Parks.

LN22 A Green Government would protect Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty but seek to use other land to maximise crop yields, biodiversity and wild natural habitat.

LN23 We will give Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty comparable status to National Parks. In the long term the lessons learnt from National Parks and successes in arresting unbridled agricultural, forestry, industrial and mining developments will be applied to the whole countryside.

LN24 We will increase the amount of land available for wildlife reserves, particularly land offered long-term protection through the European Union’s Birds Directive and Habitats Directive.

LN25 We will seek to increase the area of forest in the UK from its current level of around 12% to at least 25%, in line with other European countries. This will be achieved by encouraging planting, particularly of native species, with higher grant aid, increased Forest Commission planting budget and other financial incentives. National and Local Government land will be made available for planting where possible, especially urban and derelict land reclamation.

LN26 We will improve the management of woodlands through new planting and the local use of sustainable woodland products. We will also encourage the creation of community forests, owned, managed and used by the local population, thereby enhancing local employment opportunities.

LN27 We will prohibit destruction of ancient woodland.

LN28 The Green Party calls for an emergency international agreement to stop global deforestation. This must be developed as a priority and implemented in full consultation with the local and indigenous communities recognising traditional land rights.

LN29 The Green Party will ensure that planning for sustainable use of the countryside for multiple purposes is a major and integral part of Local Development Frameworks, and that planning decisions are made at the lowest possible level - be it parish, town, district, county or unitary councils.

LN30 The Green Party will strengthen planning controls against large-scale or damaging land-use changes in the countryside, in particular, large-scale farm buildings, new and improvement works by drainage bodies and water authorities, clearances of woodland, works affecting woodland and large-scale afforestation.

LN31 The Green Party will seek to halt and reverse the spread of light pollution in the countryside in order to protect the dark night sky and to minimise disturbance to wildlife from artificial light.

LN32 The Green Party will ensure that all roads - both existing and new builds - respect the natural routes of animals, and will construct badger tunnels, dormouse bridges, and similar where needed.

LN33 The Green Party will implement defences, such as rock armour or boulder barriers, to help protect our coasts from natural processes such as erosion and longshore drift.

LN34 The Green Party will ensure that all areas damaged as a result of chromium dumping in the Firth of Forth will have the long-term ongoing cleanup operations fully funded.
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