Defra’s omissions

Environment ministers have a habit of making speeches just before the summer holidays.  I wrote yesterday of David Trippier’s disastrous announcement on common land 30 years ago.  Last year Michael Gove spoke to us from the hothouse at Kew, in his final days as environment secretary—and failed to mention public access, a significant part of Defra’s remit.  Last week his successor George Eustice similarly made his heading-for-holidays speech, again without mentioning public access.

You would have thought that with the summer break about to start they might have been thinking about recreation.

Riders near Lane End on Dartmoor

George Eustice did announce that Defra would be ‘investing £4m in a two-year pilot to bring green prescribing to four urban and rural areas that have been hit the hardest by coronavirus’, which presumably has an access element—but this is too little too late.

Walkers near Otley in west Yorkshire

Green prescribing has…