England is building more homes than it has for many years
That is changing the contours of the countryside—and of politics
TO THE WEST of the road, a housing estate blossoms behind the hedgerows. Identikit boxes bestride gravel drives; the gardens are festooned with decking. The eastern side of this road in Wiltshire is another England: rolling fields where cattle stare down traffic. But that idyll is being encroached on, too. At one end of the road, two new estates near completion; at the other, a third welcomes its first residents. Locals bemoan a damaged environment and homeless newts. But in this competition between two Englands, it seems clear which is winning.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Blot on the landscape”
Britain July 17th 2021
- England is building more homes than it has for many years
- Opponents of housebuilding claim to care more about the environment than prices
- Britain is no longer a leader in international giving
- Achieving net-zero carbon emissions will be eye-wateringly expensive
- An amnesty for Northern Irish killers is supposed to draw a line under the Troubles
- The shortage of HGV drivers in Britain is getting worse
- Liverpool’s changing skyline defies UNESCO
From the July 17th 2021 edition
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