News UK November 2009

*Forum for the Future's 2009 ranking puts Newcastle top in their league table of "Britain’s most sustainable cities", 19 Nov Forum for the Future, 19 Nov 2009 topic, place
*Government to consult on proposals to make data from Ordnance Survey freely available so it can be used for digital innovation and to support democratic accountability, 17 November Communities and Local Government, 17 November 2009 Data relating to electoral and local authority boundaries as well as postcode areas would be released for free re-use, including commercially. Mid-scale digital mapping information would also be released in the same way. The Government will be running a public consultation on the proposals from December and any change would be implemented from April 2010. The highest-specification Ordnance Survey products and services - such as those used by property developers or the utility companies - would be charged for on a cost-reflective basis. topic
*Government announces consultation "Removing red tape in move towards a low-carbon future", 17 November Communities and Local Government, 17 November 2009 topic
*98.3 per cent of England’s bathing waters met the EC’s minimum water quality standards in 2009, up from 96% in 2008, 17 November defra, 17 November 2009 topic
*60,000 people from across the world now co-own the land purchased by Greenpeace on the third runway site at Heathrow, 13 November Greenpeace,13 November 2009 topic
*Recycling rate (England) up to 37.6 per cent in the last year from 34.5 per cent in 2007/8 - continued improvement from 11.2 per cent in 2000/2001 (household rubbish recycled by local authorities), 5 November Defra, 5 November 2009 Waste sent to landfill down by 1.2 million tonnes. Highest household recycling/composting/reuse rate was 61.58 per cent in Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (last year) topic, place
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