It’s our green belt that needs protection

WHILE our hospitals struggle with Covid admissions, the Government at the weekend found time to announce plans for new laws to protect statues.

It’s a response to the various monuments which were toppled in protest during Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

On one hand, maybe it’s a good thing that normal Government business is continuing during a pandemic.

And there will be many people who support the Government’s pledge of greater protection for monuments – although it will really be about greater punishment for those who move them, rather than better protection up front.

But isn’t it a shame that on one hand, the Government is seeking to protect monuments, but won’t do the same for the countryside in areas like Rossendale?

The very same secretary of state who wants to protect statues is the same one who wants to change planning laws so it’s far harder for local people to protest about local planning developments, and the same one who insists on really higher house building allocations.