Ness Geophysics…..The Cairns Dig Dairy…..BBC Pics of Scotland…..From ‘Wild Justice…..
by Bernie Bell - 12:49 on 14 June 2025
Ness Geophysics….
More about The Ness geo-physics surveys…
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/geophysics-d3/
Trench T and its environs......oh yes!.......
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=15822
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The Cairns Dig Diary…
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2025/06/12/cairns-d4-2025/
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BBC Pics of Scotland….
6th – 13th of June 2025….
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g7rpkn97jo
Andy Lewis’ pic. of mating damselflies is a stunner!
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From ‘Wild Justice’……
“Good morning!
Today we bring you hot-off-the-press news that we’re taking the government to court over its controversial Planning & Infrastructure Bill.
This week we lodged an application for judicial review at the High Court against this proposed legislation that we, along with many conservation and legal experts, believe poses a very serious threat to environmental protections in the UK.
You may remember that in April 2025, the Deputy Prime Minister told Parliament that this bill would not reduce environmental protections in law. We disagreed and commissioned expert barristers to review the bill - click here. Their legal opinion was clear: the bill will significantly weaken existing safeguards, particularly for protected nature sites.
In May, we sent a pre-action protocol letter which was a warning to the government about the unsubstantiated claim it was making about the bill and we asked that the statement was corrected so as not to mislead the public and Parliament. The statement has not been corrected, nor even explained, so we have now started formal legal proceedings.
What’s at stake?
The proposed bill removes the current requirement that authorities must be sure, beyond reasonable scientific doubt, that a development won’t harm a protected site or species. Instead, proposals in the new bill mean that developers can disregard protected status designations and simply pay into a nature restoration levy scheme, supposedly to “offset” any damage. We believe the proposed levy scheme is meaningless because the Secretary of State would no longer have to judge the level of mitigation on the basis of rigorous scientific evidence, but rather on the vague ‘likelihood’ that mitigation may be at an appropriate level. That’s a very dangerous precedent.
Even the government’s own watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), has called the bill a “regression” in environmental law.
We believe the public deserves honesty, and that Parliament should not be misled, especially when the consequences could be devastating. Our legal challenge is not just about one bill though; it’s about holding power to account and defending the legal foundations that protect nature.
You can read our full press release here.
We’re not asking you to donate towards our legal challenge at this stage. The work we’ve done so far has been covered by a very generous donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) for this specific issue. However, if a High Court judge rules that we have an arguable case, and gives us permission to proceed to a full judicial review, we’ll then need to raise a substantial amount to cover our legal costs, so we might come back to you at that point!
Thank you again to everyone who has contacted us about our legal challenge against the bill and offered encouragement and support – it is very much appreciated.
We’ll be back early next week with news about how you can help in the run up to the Westminster debate on banning driven grouse shooting, which will take place on 30 June 2025 at 4.30pm.
Wild Justice (CEO: Bob Elliot. Directors: Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay)."
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