The director for Campaign to Protect Rural England Oxfordshire has praised the council for standing its ground over a planning appeal for 117 home in Banbury.

A government planning inspector last week <6/1> backed Cherwell District Councils decision to reject the controversial plans for Crouch Hill.

The council had thrown out Gleeson Developments Ltd's application for planning permission for the site on the outskirts of the town in March.

CPRE Oxfordshire director Helen Marshall said: It is good to see such a sensible decision from the planning inspectorate and well done to Cherwell District Council for standing their ground. This site is an important landscape feature, providing a rural backdrop to the town, as well as being of cultural importance in relation to the Civil War."

The plans proposed developments on the 10.5 hectare land south of Broughton Road including up to 117 homes with parking.

On Tuesday, January 6, inspector Jennifer Vyse refused the appeal concluding that the plans would have a significant adverse impact on the character and appearance of the part of the district.

She said: In my consideration the site is still seen as an essential component of the rural setting of the hill and is very sensitive with a low capacity for residential development.

"I am in no doubt that the erection of up to 117 dwellings on the lower field would constitute a considerable intrusion into that setting.

Cherwell District Council rejected plans originally calling it a "sporadic and unsustainable" extension of the town's boundary.

Cherwells lead member for planning, councillor Michael Gibbard, said: The site was not thought suitably practical on landscape grounds and it is pleasing to see the inspector has supported that view.

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CPRE happy Crouch Hill housing plan thrown out

For a place where beer and barbecue reign supreme, Texas has a wine scene that is catching up fast, becoming No. 5 in U.S. wine production.

Centered in this small town 77 miles west of Austin and 70 miles north of San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country is home to more than 40 wineries, and it is clear why it was named one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine's top wine tourism destinations.

Visitors can fill their days visiting wineries and talking with vintners and never be more than 30 minutes from their lodging. Wineries and tasting rooms line both sides of U.S. Highway 290 between Fredericksburg and Johnson City, with the vines sharing the landscape with peach orchards and lavender fields as well as tumbleweeds and cactus.

The biggest challenge is choosing which properties to visit. In a bit more than three days of visiting and tasting, I found a lot to love and few to forget. Tasting costs vary but average $10 to $12 for a six-wine sampling.

William Chris Vineyards (williamchriswines.com) is one of Hill Country's newest, and it is one of the first that visitors encounter as they drive from Austin. William Chris uses all Texas fruit and specializes in clean, fresh-tasting wines with minimal oak. I especially liked the Enchante red blend.

It is also a great introduction to the attitude that surrounds Texas wines: The vintners are passionate about their wines, but a current of fun flows through all the tastings. There seems to be a lot more laughter than in the tasting rooms of Napa.

When I asked about tours of the winery, the manager said, "Yeah, but it's right over there. Just wander on back, and the guys'll be glad to answer any questions."

Becker Vineyards (beckervineyards.com) is one of the more famous Texas wineries, getting a boost from having its wines served in the White House by President George W. Bush.

Located about a mile off U.S. 290, Becker has just under 50 acres of vines surrounding its winery. The tasting room is huge but frequently crowded on weekends. A small 19th-century cabin once served as a B&B but is now just a historic visual note.

The wines I tasted were universally good, with the reserve cabernet demonstrating why it is regularly rated among the top wines in the state. A big surprise was the Provencal, a superb dry rose. True oenophiles who visit on Saturday should not miss the Library tasting of aged reserve, single-vineyard cabernets. Spots are limited, and reservations are required.

Continued here:
Texas finds that there's wine in them thar hills

Excitement was building at last Mondays meeting of the Chilhowie Revitalization Committee as designers got down to details on project plans.

David Hill, president and landscape architect with Hill Studio of Roanoke, was joined by landscape architect Greg Webster, Aaron Arnett with Arnett Muldrow & Associates, and representatives of Thompson & Litton as well as the Mount Rogers Planning District Commission, all working with the committee and town on a revitalization project in the Old Main Street area.

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Chilhowie's revitalization committee hears from designers

OTTAWA - A slightly fuzzy, zoomed-in screen grab from question period took a brewing controversy for Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, and crystallized it into a tale of callous indifference.

"Leona Aglukkaq reads newspaper, ignores questions about people looking for food in dump," read the headline last month by Press Progress, a social-media focused news organization funded by the Broadbent Institute.

From there the story was touched on by mainstream news organizations, who appeared to miss the fleeting visual during the House of Commons broadcast. Aglukkaq had been fending off criticism that the government's Nutrition North program hasn't helped reduce grocery costs in the territories.

Press Progress is snarky, easy-to-read, unabashedly left-wing and opinionated, and part of a new group of digital media organizations covering politics on Parliament Hill.

Vice, The Tyee, the Vancouver Observer, Blacklock's Reporter, and rabble.ca now have correspondents or small teams in Ottawa. The digital outlets iPolitics and Huffington Post were the first of the new wave.

In the United States, such news sites as Politico, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call and Buzzfeed Politics have been making their mark for years.

The new Canadian players with different funding models are filling in some of the empty chairs in the press gallery left by shrinking traditional media outlets. And they're challenging some of the notions about what political reporting looks like.

In the case of Press Progress, the content could be dismissed by some as NDP partisan advertising. It is run within the Broadbent Institute, an independent, non-partisan think-tank founded by former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and initially run by a former aide to the late Jack Layton.

Founding editor Sarah Schmidt, a former national reporter with Postmedia News, says there is nothing in the content that is partisan, and accuracy is still a central tenet. The outlet is run independently of the institute.

Follow this link:
New Media (Including Yours Truly) Changing Ottawa's Political Landscape

Spring Hill has been named the fourth best city in Tennessee for young families, according to NerdWallet, a website that promotes consumer financial literacy, giving transparent information to help consumers make big financial decisions.

Spencer Tierney, an analyst with NerdWallet, said, Spring Hills strong performance was bolstered by its high GreatSchools rating of 9 out of 10, as well as its high median family income ($82,378) and the large percentage of its population with children.

The 2015 report and methodology was created by NerdWallets data analyst, Kamran Rosen, who wrote, with over 30,000 residents, Spring Hill is the most populous community in our top 10. Families living here will find a lot of company: Nearly half, 41.2 percent, of the citys population includes families with children. The city just 35 minutes south of Nashville is proud of its industrial sector that it balances with its natural beauty.

He added, for many young couples, buying their first house when they are also starting their family is a daunting prospect. Even though quality of life matters to all future homeowners, young families may have tighter finances that limit their options.

The analysis considered several factors including home affordability, prosperity and growth, quality of education and family friendliness. With that information, they came up with the top 99 placed in Tennessee that they consider the Best Cities for Young Families in Tennessee. While Spring Hill is fourth, Arlington, Atoka and Mount Carmel make up the top three in the list.

Spring Hill Mayor Rick Graham isnt surprised by the ranking, he said.

Spring Hill has long attracted a uniquely high number of young families, he said. People have moved here for affordable housing and good schools in a friendly place where they feel safe raising children while still being close to their jobs in Nashville and Cool Springs. But Spring Hills job landscape is changing, and we are now evolving into a city that offers its own good-paying jobs and quality of life for those young families. That has further fueled the influx of young families.

He said he believes the city will remain at the tops of these types of lists for years to come.

Creating the environment that attracts young families with children is what we have concentrated on for so long, and because of quality of life aspects we are adding each year, I suspect Spring Hill will remain on these types of lists for the foreseeable future, he said.

Key factors make Spring Hill a good place for young families, Graham noted.

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Spring Hill earns top families ranking

By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - A slightly fuzzy, zoomed-in screen grab from question period took a brewing controversy for Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, and crystallized it into a tale of callous indifference.

"Leona Aglukkaq reads newspaper, ignores questions about people looking for food in dump," read the headline last month by Press Progress, a social-media focused news organization funded by the Broadbent Institute.

From there the story was touched on by mainstream news organizations, who appeared to miss the fleeting visual during the House of Commons broadcast. Aglukkaq had been fending off criticism that the government's Nutrition North program hasn't helped reduce grocery costs in the territories.

Press Progress is snarky, easy-to-read, unabashedly left-wing and opinionated, and part of a new group of digital media organizations covering politics on Parliament Hill.

Vice, The Tyee, the Vancouver Observer, Blacklock's Reporter, and rabble.ca now have correspondents or small teams in Ottawa. The digital outlets iPolitics and Huffington Post were the first of the new wave.

In the United States, such news sites as Politico, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call and Buzzfeed Politics have been making their mark for years.

The new Canadian players with different funding models are filling in some of the empty chairs in the press gallery left by shrinking traditional media outlets. And they're challenging some of the notions about what political reporting looks like.

In the case of Press Progress, the content could be dismissed by some as NDP partisan advertising. It is run within the Broadbent Institute, an independent, non-partisan think-tank founded by former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and initially run by a former aide to the late Jack Layton.

Founding editor Sarah Schmidt, a former national reporter with Postmedia News, says there is nothing in the content that is partisan, and accuracy is still a central tenet. The outlet is run independently of the institute.

Go here to read the rest:
New faces changing political reporting landscape

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RESIDENTS have continued to express their disgust at plans to build up to eight houses in a village.

Les Stephan Planning Ltd has submitted proposals to build the homes on land near Stone Road by the Slaters Country House Hotel in Hill Chorlton.

Nearly 50 villagers met at Maer Village Hall this week to discuss the plans.

Judith Oppenheimer, of Baldwins Gate, is also awaiting a decision on whether 113 houses will be built in her village.

Mrs Oppenheimer, of the Baldwins Gate Action Group, said: While I live in Baldwins Gate, my long-term home is in Hill Chorlton and the development would spoil a beautiful landscape.

If the Baldwins Gate development is permitted, the countryside around it will be up for grabs by greedy developers and land owners.

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Villagers continue to express disgust at plans to build up to eight houses in Hill Chorlton

Farming on the slopes has sparked fears of a potential catastrophe.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Hill may soon lose its appeal no thanks to unmonitored cultivation that is chipping away its green landscape.

The hill is one of Penangs tourist destinations but bald patches are visible from kilometres away, due to farming activities, which spark fears of a potential catastrophe reminiscent of the recent Cameron Highlands tragedy.

Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) engineering director Addnan Mohd Razali said the MPPP had received reports on farming carried out by the landowners.

He said under Section 70 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133), the council does not have the liberty to prosecute landowners.

However, the MPPP had discussed with the district officer on the relevant laws to prevent the landowners from continuing with their activities, he said.

We are currently monitoring the situation to see what kind of action can be taken to curtail the activities, he told Bernama when contacted here today.

Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been calling for the state government to address the matter before the hill turned into another destructive Cameron Highlands, in which illegal farming was blamed for the unnecessary loss of lives and property.

A check by Bernama found bald patches on both sides of the Penang Hill railway line and could be seen from as far as the Jalan Air Itam roundabout, 2km away.

On another land-clearing activity near Jalan Rajawali in Bayan Lepas, Addnan said he was not aware and would refer it to the MPPP to investigate.

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Penang Hill losing lure due to farming activities

Winning tip: Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria

A friend and I completed a 55km, three-day hike across the Pirin mountains. We started in picturesque Dobrinishte, stayed in mountain huts for two nights and finished in the famous wine-growing town of Melnik, via the stunning Rozhen monastery. The variety of landscape was wonderful, from the glacial lakes of the upper mountains to the gentle Alpine forests below and finally the almost sub-tropical sandstone pyramids, dense vines and creepers around Melnik. jamescrouchman

Three days is all it takes to complete one of New Zealands great walks. The trek takes you through dense forest to rocky mountainsides with some spectacular waterfalls on the way. Side treks are also available for those who want a little more adventure. These are greatly advised particularly Conical Hill, which gives a panoramic view of the mountain range. Alpine parrots will accompany your journey, but keep an eye on your picnic! Really friendly guides give you all the information you need in the excellent huts on the way. David Grant

The Travessia Petrpolis is a three-day trek inland from the city of Rio that takes you up above the clouds to over 2,000m in the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Orgos. You will see spectacular sunsets and sunrises and can bathe in a refreshing waterfall. You can spend two nights in mountain shelters, hire a tent or take your own. You will need to pay a small fee to access the park, which can be done online, where you can also book the shelter and find a local guide. When you get back to Rio, you can carry on trekking with climbs up the numerous peaks of that amazing city.

bikeandwalk bikeandwalk

This is one of the last great wilderness walks in the British Isles, and not for the faint-hearted. Its a rough, tough five-day trek with no roads, no accommodation other than basic bothies and no other people! What it does have is superb coastal scenery, abundant wildlife and remarkable geological phenomena. writeofway

My partner and I trekked through Burmas Shan State, from Kalaw to Inle Lake, over three days. The states agricultural hinterland comprises a patchwork of farmland and an endless vista of hills and forest, dotted with villages, pagodas and monasteries. Stopping overnight, we were warmly welcomed to stay in wooden village houses, experiencing rural Burmese life in a place that felt off the beaten track. Along the way, we chatted to locals, rested in small tea shops over sweet, milky drinks and ducked into monasteries to escape the suns midday glare. BenStarkey

This is a great trek for several reasons. First, its history - the pilgrim way to Santiago was one of the great routes of the Middle Ages. Second, the architecture Cluniac monasteries, tiny Romanesque churches, great pilgrim hospitals, and the amazing cathedrals of Le Puy and Compostela at either end. And third, the landscape, from the great droving tracks of Aubrac to the Pyrenees, the narrow gorge of the Lot to the fertile vineyards and fruit orchards of Gascony, the route traverses some of the finest landscapes of southern Europe. andreakkk

The Nuortti hiking trail is a circular 40km trek near the Finnish/Russian border in the Urho Kekkonen national park. The trail runs along the Nuortti river, which is a popular destination for fishing and offers views of dense forests and deep canyons. It is an extremely well-catered-for trek offering reservable huts equipped with wood for fires, an outhouse, gas cooker and kitchen utensils. Id advise spending two nights in the forest its a magical environment to immerse yourself in, a place to feel detached from the hustle and bustle of life. connect10

The valley of Glenlough lies facing the wild Atlantic in south-west Donegal, Ireland. Its en route from Port to Maghera, which is a comfortable two-day trek, edging the coast, along spectacular cliffs and breathtaking scenery. Accessible only on foot, the valley was once briefly home to poet Dylan Thomas, who spent the summer of 1935 living and writing there. (The old stone cottage where he stayed is now a ruin.) The area and surrounding mountains are also home to rare flora and fauna and have been described by the Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of the last remaining wilderness frontiers in Europe, and the sea stacks offshore are some of the largest in Ireland. glendoan

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Great treks around the world: readers travel tips

By Farooq Soomro | January 7, 2015

The night sky in Kirthar range is so clear that you can spot the Milky Way with your naked eyes. The landscape is so vast that it stretches beyond man-made boundaries.

A land so enriched with history that one feels lost in time. The mountain range forming a natural boundary between Balochistan and Sindh is home to several peaks, most notably Gorakh Hill (5,700), Kuttay-ji-Qabar (6,877) and Bandu-ji-Qabar (7,112) .

The 150+ mile long stretch provides a sanctuary to different wild life and its torrents, tributaries, canyons, ponds and historical sites making it an ideal excursion for a variety of people.

Unfortunately the uncertain security situations cloaks the ground reality that the local hospitable people are more than eager to welcome tourists and help improve the image of their area.

I went to Gorakh Hill last year and had been yearning to go back to Kirthar range ever since. A family friend was hosting a kacheri on Badro Jabal and I jumped into the invitation as soon as I heard about it.

Badro Jabal in Kirthar range was a much safer and easier destination than the rest. It was only 320km from Karachi and a metal road connected it with the Indus highway.

The drive was rather uneventful until we reached the elevation of 3,000 feet where we saw the panoramic view of the valleys below. An oil exploration company had dug wells across Badro plateau and we could see dirt roads connecting various spots across the mountain.

We found a small guesthouse there that had been built by the government a long time ago and was now in desolate condition. We made a stop there and walked leisurely to the edge of the mountain. We saw a dirt road below in the gorge.

Here we met a local shepherd there who lived across the gorge. He told us that they had been promised development in the area due to the oil companys investment.

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The night sky in Kirthar range is so clear that you can spot the Milky Way with your naked eyes. The landscape is so ...