Browse by subject: Policy: Local government (115)
£50 million to drive efficiency in public buildings
05 Feb 2010
A loan scheme to retrofit Britain’s public sector buildings could see the end of draughty, inefficient schools and hospitals...
Zero waste coming up from the streets
12 Mar 2009
Initiative targets dramatic cuts in landfill at community, city and regional level
A home...
When councils get clever
29 May 2009
Innovative approach helps local authorities connect with their citizens – and save money too.
West Midland way forward
05 Nov 2006
Priorities for raising the quality of life vary across Britain, and require appropriate regional responses. A new...
Waste not
11 Nov 2006
Zero waste: it’s a radical-sounding notion for a local council. It means regarding rubbish not as something...
Waste campaign goes on message
05 Nov 2006
East Anglia’s unique regional ‘Slim Your Bin’ campaign will be changing gear this autumn - and...
Walking side by side
05 Nov 2006
Here’s a short cut for local authorities keen on walking to school. Four London boroughs, who have been running...
Walk the talk
30 Jan 2008
Local authorities may have learned to love the lingo, wholeheartedly embracing the language of carbon reduction and...
Village hall vision
09 Jul 2008
Parish pioneers use of green energy funding powers
Grassroots energy action at village level has just got a big boost...
Transports of delight
09 Mar 2009
The mayor wants Londoners to travel lighter. Cue hybrid buses, solar stations and yet more cycling... - Transport...
The power of the people is the motive for green change
04 Jan 2010
Twelve bored strangers sit in an airless room, their hearts racing on cheap coffee, and their only motivation a second...
The future’s made of straw
29 May 2009
North Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire is to become the first local authority in the UK to use straw bales...
The futureproofers
09 Mar 2009
Around the country, towns are printing their own currency, turning over scraps of land to grow food and re-skilling...
Sweet Thames - run not so softly
05 Nov 2006
Tried to get down to the Thames recently? Londoners may have the cleanest major river in Europe, but getting access...
Sweet sustainability on Richmond Hill?
05 Nov 2006
The planners in Richmond-upon-Thames (planning@richmond.gov...
Sustainable city writ small
05 Nov 2006
The UK's smallest city has launched an innovative project to become a ‘sustainable city’. St David’s...
Sustainability assessments
05 Nov 2006
Local authorities up and down the country can tap into work done in Nottingham, London, Leicester and Derby to help...
Solar farm to transform Welsh city's skyline
24 Jul 2009
Newport council outshines UK Government on solar power with proposals for a 'solar farm' across the rooftops of all public buildings...
Social project makes sugar mean sweet
12 Mar 2010
The sugar cane industry defines socio-economic conditions in Aracoiaba. It hasn't always made life sweet for local...
Sit still while I empower you...
06 Mar 2008
Ben Tuxworth on the wonders of participation: what works, what doesn't
SAVE and prosper?
05 Nov 2006
Is the supermarket the nemesis of the village shop – or can they be saved by a Sainsbury’s scheme? Five...
Repeat prescription for capital traffic
01 Nov 2006
The first extension of London’s congestion charge is set for 2006
Quote unchoke
11 Nov 2006
"If we want our air quality to improve it is important to act now. Local authorities are in a pivotal position to...
Only connect for rural conference
05 Nov 2006
Highlighting the potential role of new technologies in linking up rural communities, the Local Government Association...
No decentralisation without dosh, says Jonathon Porritt
03 Mar 2010
Decentralisation: idealistic, but without sufficient funding, unrealistic? Jonathon Porritt makes the case for local resources...
More money for less carbon
30 Nov 2007
Council poised to tweak mileage allowances to favour greener vehicles.
Loss leader on a nappy solution
04 Nov 2006
Westminster Council got behind this year’s Real Nappy Week. It offered local parents a one-month free nappy...
Light years ahead
09 Oct 2007
Gateshead is showing other local authorities
what to do with redundant lighting
Leicester's giant step for sustainability
04 Nov 2006
You’d be showing your age if you could remember that distant past when councils used to build houses themselves...
LED streetlights cash in on low-energy technology
21 May 2009
High-powered, low-carbon lamps ready for rollout across UK
How land-locked Leicester turned the tide
09 Nov 2006
When local authorities use the s word, does anyone listen? Actually, yes, says Ben Tuxworth - but only if the right...
Guinea pigs take to bikes
30 Oct 2006
Experiment in Kingston tries to create new breed of cycle commuters All the stops were pulled out when Kingston...
Greening the Dreaming Spires
05 Nov 2006
The city of Oxford has signed up for green electricity to power all its larger council-owned buildings, including...
Green lights in Lancs
06 Nov 2006
Thinking over the way they light their streets has helped Lancashire get the energy to go further. As Nora Ward explains...
Green grading the council
06 Nov 2006
Emphasising the importance of the quality of the local environment, a new survey provides a ‘comprehensive...
Fuel cell power hits the streets
05 Nov 2006
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are crossing a crucial threshold. Widely touted as the most promising future solution...
Footprints point forward for Island State
05 Nov 2006
The Isle of Wight at the forefront of sustainability analysis? Yes, it’s a bit of a change of image, for somewhere...
Eco-Municipalities take seed from Canada to Kenya
05 May 2009
How on earth should we begin greening our metropolises? By asking the right questions, says The Natural Step.
Dundee - where the smoke don't blow
28 Jul 2008
How a pioneering approach has taken the heat out of clashes over incineration, by Sarah Roe
Cutting carbon in Planet York
11 Nov 2006
The city council in York is out to catch the popular imagination with its campaign to cut its carbon emissions. Under...
Crocodile cheers
30 Jan 2008
Exuberant Liverpudlians have come up with the concept of the all-singing all-walking school bus. Forget the idea...
Council leads on sustainable spending
26 May 2009
Leicester City Council (LCC) is forging ahead with an ambitious new approach to procurement: making sure that everything...
Conversion barrier
05 Nov 2006
We could be getting to the bottom of something here. Why is it that local authorities aren't switching over faster...
Choice cuts
25 Jan 2008
We should be worrying about life choices that really matter, says Roger Levett.
Cheering up the local
04 Nov 2006
While the loss of the last local shop can be a critical blow to a small community, the problem for rural areas encompasses...
Checking out the LEZ route
05 Nov 2006
To boost the growing interest in Low Emission Zones, there is now an LEZ Toolkit for local authorities to use. Trendy...
Catchy tunes in the town halls
10 Jan 2008
Mayors do more than add colour to municipal government, argues Ben Walker. That’s if they can dent voter...
cash for trash trial
04 Nov 2006
Rewards will be dished out not in heaven, but in mammon, for residents of a south London estate who take part in...
Can Gatwick measure up?
05 Nov 2006
It sure seems like sustainability is getting name-checked a lot these days. How much of this is just lip service?...
Bottled water on way out
05 Feb 2010
The battle against bottled water is gathering pace with water refill stations to appear at Hammersmith Bus Station...
Bin wins
09 Oct 2007
Buttcatchers are capturing the imagination of councils around the UK
Invented to keep cigarette butts and...
Bin bounty
19 Feb 2009
Councils to reward residents for recycling
Within months, UK residents could be cashing...
Biking right on
04 Nov 2006
"Straight on at the roundabout" has a new literal meaning for cyclists in London. The Lambeth Bridge roundabout...
Biking boost
06 Dec 2007
Sustrans scheme gets school kids in the saddle A fourfold increase in kids cycling to school? Remarkable but...
Bad housekeeping
30 Nov 2007
The Brits are increasingly prone to reach for expensive fragrance products to ‘neutralise’ stuffy rooms,...
Area of outstanding natural bounty
06 Mar 2008
Teesdale’s rolling hills could be the backdrop for Britain’s first all-renewable region. David Pike reports...
Alternatives to Newcastle
05 Nov 2006
The idea of a local authority setting up a regional alternative fuel centre seems eminently sensible, so it may come...
Adapting the capital
09 Mar 2009
Mayoral plan addresses climate change risks to London
London’s vulnerability to the effects...
Acting local
11 Oct 2007
Local councils have a crucial role to play in tackling fuel poverty, says Martin Fodor,
adviser on energy policy...
Accessing the local drive
05 Nov 2006
Harnessing the vision of local residents is what lies at the heart of the Local Agenda 21 ideal. In a bid to make...
