Forest is fantastic news for the north
I WAS delighted to read that Manchester is to play an important part in ambitious plans to create a new Northern Forest which have been unveiled by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.
The proposal for the forest along the M62 corridor will add to our fantastic region, not only helping to attract more visitors to the region but also helping to boost habitats for a host of different species of animals and birds, as well as providing a haven for protected species such as the country’s iconic red squirrel.
With the government providing almost £6m to launch the project, the Woodland and Community Forest Trusts are aiming to plant around 50 million trees over the next 25 years.
The north west is home to some fantastic countryside, enjoyed by thousands of visitors every year, so I was delighted to read that the first planting will start in March, with Manchester City of Trees being connected to other forests, including the Mersey Forest and South Yorkshire Community Forest, to create a green corridor stretching across the country.
It is vital that we leave our planet in a better state than we found it, with cleaner air, stronger protections for animal welfare and greener spaces for everyone to enjoy, so it’s great news that the government is investing in creating this wood across the north stretching from coast to coast, providing a rich habitat for wildlife to thrive, and a natural environment for millions of people to enjoy.
With the government backing growth, investment and jobs across the Northern Powerhouse as part of efforts to create an economy that works for everyone, it’s estimated that this new forest will generate more than £2bn for the country’s economy. The area’s breathtaking scenery and landscape is famous across the world, and this scheme will help bolster it for future generations.
Stephen Woods
Road charge propaganda
I NOTICE that the environmental law charity Client Earth are up to their mischief-making again.
They declare that a tiny poll of just 1,692 people is ‘proof’ that the majority of people support pollution charging zones for vehicles in inner cities (‘Majority back clean air zones to charge polluters,’ M.E.N. Motors, January 12). The total population of the UK is close to 64 million! Obviously, this claim is more about propaganda than substance.
I can clearly remember the green advocate group’s congestion charging campaigns of 2008 echoing similar rhetoric of how the majority of Greater Manchester citizens would be in favour of adding to their already astronomical motoring costs by adding around another £30 per week in congestion charges. The eventual vote was 78.8 per cent against congestion charging and only 21.2pc for. No confusion with that outcome.
Client Earth is not even a politically electable democratic party representing the will of the majority, and yet they want to have their own way by launching legal action against our democratically elected government. This is obviously troubling.
We only have to look at how unpopular the party most closely aligned with drastic environmental action is with the electorate. The Green Party polled only 525,371 votes out of a total of 33.6m – a fall of 2.14pc on the previous election – and has only one elected MP.
It’s the will of the majority, not the small minority that is paramount.
D Bagnall
What about school pupils?
WHEN the Planning and Highways Committee approved the new staff car park at the Christie Hospital last week (M.E.N., January 11), I believe it was the first time a local authority in England has approved the construction of a multi-storey car park right in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.
The approval also means that the two primary schools next to the new car park will have an additional 800900 cars belching fumes at their pupils and their parents everyday.
What price any green agenda in Manchester?
George Mills, Withington
Dangers of diesel fumes
SAM Darby is right to be worried about air pollution (Viewpoints, January 12). We don’t encourage children to smoke, but we allow them to inhale lungfulls of toxic chemicals every time they walk along a busy road. This is not right.
However, while all internal combustion engines are guilty, not all are equally guilty. According to DEFRA statistics, diesel cars cause 41pc of nitrogen oxide air pollution: more than lorries, buses, vans or petrol cars. It was VW who were famously caught cheating on the emissions tests; however, they were not the only company whose cars were found to emit up to 15 times the NOx they claimed.
What’s worse, diesels were advertised as environmentally friendly on account of their slightly better fuel consumption. This means that the people driving them are actually the ones who wanted to help the environment. The only truly green vehicle runs on batteries, and so it’s about time car manufacturers ditched diesel and apologised to customers, by offering an electric alternative.
Martin Porter, Manchester Greenpeace Network