How green is our government?

Environmentalists and roads lobby angered Ministers consider more green belt housing No commitment to grants for organic farming

The prospect of large swathes of Britain's remaining countryside vanishing under new roads and housing loomed large yesterday, as ministers struggled to buy more time to deal with the immense green challenges facing the Government.

The trends point to a more dispersed, suburbanised way of living, with people increasing their use of cars, travelling more frequently by air, and mostly wanting larger homes, with gardens, away from the town centre. Strong economic growth seems set to accelerate those trends, which will in turn cause increased pollution and loss of countryside.

But the Government's much heralded roads review, an early test of its ability to resist those trends, failed to satisfy either the roads lobby or environmentalists when its first results emerged yesterday. While two of the most controversial schemes were dropped - including the highly destructive Salisbury bypass - five major projects were given the green light and decisions on six were deferred.

The Government was last night on the defensive as the Transport Minister, Gavin Strang, vigorously defended the decision to go ahead with the Birmingham Northern Relief Road. When reminded that Frank Dobson had visited Birmingham and said that Labour would not build the relief road which would bring a great deal of environmental damage, Dr Strang said simply that those comments had been made a few years ago. "We have never said that we will not build any more roads or widen the roads, we want to look at what role roads should play in the future. There are real environment issues, we accept that, and we intend tio implement all the recommendations in the report, not just planting trees and shrubs, but even more to minimise the adverse affects of this road."

Ministers also said they were reappraising the last government's "aspirational" target for at least 60 per cent of all new housing to be built within existing towns and cities rather than in the countryside. They are several months away from deciding what their national target should be - or whether they should have one at all.

Today, the Ministry of Agriculture will announce a review of the aid it gives to encourage organic farming, free of synthetic fertiliser and pesticides, hoping to encourage farmers to use the traditional methods. But there is expected to be no commitment on the key question of whether organic farmers will get maintenance grants, to help them after the initial five years during which they convert to environment-friendly, organic management.

In 12 out of the 15 European Union member states, organic farmers get these maintenance grants, but not in Britain - which gives proportionally less financial support to this form of agriculture than any other country.

For the environmental movement, the first 90 days of the new Government have been something of a roller-coaster ride. Environmentalists were charmed by early invitations to Downing Street, and by Tony Blair's powerful speech at the Earth Summit follow-up in New York, in which he promised that Britain would take a lead in tackling the threat of global warming by cutting fossil fuel use.

But they were deeply disappointed by a Budget which, while putting up the price of petrol and diesel, made household gas and electricity cheaper by cutting VAT - while leaving fuel-saving goods like insulation still taxed at the full 17.5 per cent.

Tom Burke - a political adviser on green issues to the last three Tory secretaries of state for the environment, and now a visiting professor at Imperial College, London - said: ''The new Government has raised expectations very high, and in so doing they're making problems for themselves. On some of the more difficult issues, like encouraging people to use their cars less, it's going to take real political balls to change things.'

Of the roads approved yesterday, the Birmingham Northern Relief Road was the most controversial. This motorway will be paid for by a private consortium which will recoup its investment by charging tolls.

The move is difficult to justify on environmental grounds. The road, according to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, is mostly built on green belt land, "affects local conservation/ recreational sites", requires 42 houses to be demolished and will destroy Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Dr Strang approved the scheme because it was a "nationally strategic route of the first importance".

Also given the go-ahead was the pounds 150m A13 Thames Gateway project, despite the admission that "properties would suffer increased noise and visual intrusion and others alongside will have to be demolished". These environmental considerations were outweighed by the economic benefits of the road.

Ministers will also proceed with a pounds 163m widening of the M2 in Kent after officials pointed out that provision for the road was made in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Bill - passed by the last government.

The Government deferred decisions on six major projects. These will be settled in a White Paper next year.

Changing Britain, page 6