Swindon twinned with Disney World, fact

Fact is indeed stranger than fiction as proved today by the news that Swindon is to be twinned with Walt Disney World…

Let’s hear it for New York..

I was lucky enough to be in New York at the weekend and took the chance to visit the new High Line Park which runs through the city’s West Side.

Proposals push petition power

The government has launched a consultation into how to strengthen the use of that great British tradition, the petition.

Tough times ahead for cathedrals

A visit to St Paul’s Cathedral in London is always an awesome experience. A fitting setting no less for the launch of English Heritage’s research into the fabric of the country’s 61 cathedrals.

Eco-towns or eco-developments?

The government’s revamped plans for the second wave of eco-towns have taken a sensible path through a political minefield.

Battle lines drawn in ‘village green’ debate

A campaign group has been launched to stop NIMBYS “perverting the traditional, noble idea of the English village green.”

Tube breeds “dog-eat-dog” mentality

A report released by the London Assembly into overcrowding on the Tube network graphically reveals how our environment affects our behaviour.

Scrap planning says author

The planning system has led to “shoddiness, squalor and ugliness” in our cities according to a writer in Saturday’s Times.

Council listens to residents. Newspaper unimpressed.

A shortage of affordable housing won’t be news to anyone. But while building more houses seems like a straightforward solution, there are other factors to bear in mind. Like building houses people actually want to live in.

Giving a dam

A common lament about our public affairs is the lack of joined-up thinking. However this is not confined to the UK.