Lord Deben / Selwyn Gummer is ....

Location
southwest
Lets have a bit more thought before condemning some "unusual" suggestions about cutting carbon emissions.

Better home insulation? Well, it will reduce the amount of fuel used for heating.

Are SUV's a fashion item? Try looking at any car park and guessing which 4x4's are used by people who need them (they'll be the muddy ones)

Is all street lighting really necessary? Let's face it, it's hardly needed outside of built up areas-and does it need to be on ALL night?

This chap's ideas might seem a bit weird (or badly presented) and blocking a motorway is never going to get widespread support. But they do get people thinking.

And I, for one, would rather people thought about reducing home heating fuel usage, unnecessary street lighting and whether they really need a Merc SUV for the school run, than just say it's all the farmer's fault, so people should eat less meat and dairy and let's ban the use of soya meal while we're at it.
 

melted welly

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
DD9.
... a tosser.

Unbelievable. His latest wheeze to combat climate change is to suggest that villages don't need street lighting as we are country folk so can use a torch.


Just demonstrates how "they" don't give a toss about those of us who live & work in the countryside.

Let have more examples of the "urban elite" giving us a good fingering

heard his interview on the radio today, and the context was slightly different to what that article presents. His point on r4 was that people moving to the country shouldn’t demand urbanisation of the area they move to - moan about noises, smells and amongst other things - demand street lighting. If the article is based on the same interview then it’s taken totally out of context.
 
heard his interview on the radio today, and the context was slightly different to what that article presents. His point on r4 was that people moving to the country shouldn’t demand urbanisation of the area they move to - moan about noises, smells and amongst other things - demand street lighting. If the article is based on the same interview then it’s taken totally out of context.


Councils use the term "Sustainable" which relates directly to facilities available. ie Doctor, Bus(es), School, Post Office, Shop, Pub, Playing fields etc.

Areas that don't have facilities are termed unsustainable and don't get new facilities or housing. This might be fine for some but young people and families need homes and facilities. These days villages need to be somewhat larger just to keep the village shop and post office (We've lost ours). Personally I'd like to see schools and doctors (We've lost ours) near groups of villages.
 

melted welly

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
DD9.
Councils use the term "Sustainable" which relates directly to facilities available. ie Doctor, Bus(es), School, Post Office, Shop, Pub, Playing fields etc.

Areas that don't have facilities are termed unsustainable and don't get new facilities or housing. This might be fine for some but young people and families need homes and facilities. These days villages need to be somewhat larger just to keep the village shop and post office (We've lost ours). Personally I'd like to see schools and doctors (We've lost ours) near groups of villages.
I think councils use the term “sustainable” in the same way they use the “fair trade” signs, to tick a self-imposed box. Doesn’t make any difference to anything, other than probably sustaining a dedicated office and staff to ensure the box is ticked.

our local library posted a lot of “we’re back open” type of advertising, only it turned out to be basically open for half a day per week…..and you’re not allowed to browse the books (so you literally judge a book by its cover)……. This is their idea of the future.

Policies like that will kill the facilities on offer, maybe that’s the ultimate plan though 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

Kidds

Member
Horticulture
He was right
He is this time too.
There is no need for all the street lights, if you are out and about it is simple to use a torch, more so these days of LED than ever.
Street lights don't only make some residents feel secure they make thieves feel secure too.
There are no street lights within miles of my place and damned glad I am too, nearest ones were put up recently outside the ice cream farm, which isn't even fecking open when it is dark. WTF?
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
I was at a Westminster Food and Farming thing not so long ago where he spoke.

He did talk a bit about his 200ac "smallholding" and suggested that there was no need (as suggested by the IPCC - the topic of discussion at the time) for people to eat 20% less meat because poor people were all fat and therefore should just eat a third less of everything and this would take the meat into account.

There aren't enough of these, really: :rolleyes:
 

melted welly

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
DD9.
Enough.
Gummer runs Sancroft. Sancroft take money from Tesco. Alot of money.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sancroft
Tesco's freezers burn more electricity than does all of UK agriculture (I swear blind i've already posted that tonight).
Gummer telling you to turn the street lights out to save electricity is complete and utter bollox.
I’m not sticking up for the bloke, but what he said in the radio 4 interview and what is written in the article are poles apart (if that is what the article is based on).

His point was basically that the expectation of incomers to rural areas that those rural areas should then adapt to accommodate urban standards of provision, such as streetlights was not sustainable. And I would agree.

I’d bet the article was written by some nimby with a 2nd home in Devon who recently tripped over a kerb in the dark whilst walking a fat lab and has since been campaigning for street lighting to be installed.
 

Bongodog

Member
A few years back Cambridgeshire turned off the streetlights in the middle of the night, I couldn't see a problem with it, but lots of people, strangely enough the ones who didn't ever need to go out in the early hours of the morning hated the idea. In order to meet climate targets surely these are easy decisions to take.
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
Are street lights really that essential in the countryside?

Generally spot a newcomer to the countryside by their badly adjusted insecurity lighting searing into one's night vision and making observation of stock at last rounds or lambing times nigh on impossible.
It's often locals who've lobbied for street lights and pavements ~ on the basis that they pays their council tax, and don't get no nother benefits from it!

There's a blue-green pinpoint light on some types of insecurity systems that travels miles. It's totally unnecessary light pollution.
 

delilah

Member
I’m not sticking up for the bloke, but what he said in the radio 4 interview and what is written in the article are poles apart (if that is what the article is based on).

His point was basically that the expectation of incomers to rural areas that those rural areas should then adapt to accommodate urban standards of provision, such as streetlights was not sustainable. And I would agree.

I’d bet the article was written by some nimby with a 2nd home in Devon who recently tripped over a kerb in the dark whilst walking a fat lab and has since been campaigning for street lighting to be installed.

Yep, sorry, I didn't read the article/ hear the interview, I was just answering the OP's call for evidence that he's 'a tosser'. Anyone who makes a good living oiling the wheels for global corporations in acting as middle man between them and our elected representatives, meets the description.
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
Street lighting is nearly all LED 's these days so use minimal electric plus on timers.
All the shops in towns and cities use the most left on all night.
'kin LED street lighting, horrible light quality except in the rare location the Council have put in something other than poorly designed and brilliantblue colour lights!

Light pollution too...:mad: Got a new development near the end of the farm drive, Urban Man in all it's glory, bloody flood lights surrounding the house and left on all night, not even downlighted, but straight out from the buildings. Throw a shadow 500m away when I am walking the dogs at night!
 

Still Farming

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
South Wales UK
'kin LED street lighting, horrible light quality except in the rare location the Council have put in something other than poorly designed and brilliantblue colour lights!

Light pollution too...:mad: Got a new development near the end of the farm drive, Urban Man in all it's glory, bloody flood lights surrounding the house and left on all night, not even downlighted, but straight out from the buildings. Throw a shadow 500m away when I am walking the dogs at night!
Progress?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

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  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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