Some of the UK’s leading thinkers in urban infrastructure came together today to start a conversation about the challenges of supporting a growing population in cities.

The event was part of the Future Cities Dialogue project, by Forum for the Future, Innovate UK, Sciencewise and Ipsos Mori. It coincided with the release of a report which reveals the current trends and challenges in urban development and offers 3 visions for what our cities could look like in 20 years. This is based on substantial dialogue with citizens on the types of cities they would want to live in.

Future Cities Dialogue – 3 potential city scenarios

Growing cities

With more than 70% of people estimated to be living in urban areas by 2040, city infrastructure and design is going to need to drastically change in order to better support its citizens.

Speaking at the breakfast session, James Goodman, Director of Futures, Forum for the Future, said:

The year 2040 will be radically different from today. The population in the UK will be 74 million, climate change will have progressed and food production will have needed to increase between 50 and 80%.

In that landscape, the role of cities is critical because it is where ideas are formed and implemented.

How people are going to live

The group felt that the trajectory of growth in people would place pressure on public and private spaces. The consensus was that infrastructure design will need to get smarter, more collaborative and focus on the needs of people if it is to be effective.

Sophie Thomas, Founding Director of Thomas Matthews and the former Director of Circular Economy for Royal Society of Arts, said:

How are people going to live in these cities? What is the density? That is not going to feel like London and the other cities we know now. Where is all the public space going to go? This is what we really need to be thinking about and what the infrastructure needs to focus on. Where is my 10-year-old going to play football?

Rob Whitehead, Head of Strategy, Future Cities Catapult, added:

The key question is how do we manage the public interest versus the private interest? My optimistic side feels that the promise of what we have ahead of us, is that together we can find better, smarter ways of balancing our interests as a whole in a much more responsive and fine-tuned way then we do now.

Join the discussion

This is only the start of the conversation. Now we want to hear from you. We are hosting a Twitter chat on Wednesday 22 March from 11am to midday to answer any questions about where our urban environments are headed and to gather your thoughts.

We want to know your thoughts on proposals to introduce a national ban on landing egg-bearing lobsters and crawfish in England.

This ban will help protect these important shellfish stocks. We particularly want to hear from fishing vessel owners and fishing licence or shellfish entitlement holders.

The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

This decision includes the permit and decision document for:

• Operator name: C D Jordan & Son Limited
• Installation name: European Metal Recycling
• Permit number: EPR/KP3594HB/V011

The Environment Agency is looking for members to join the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) which covers the River Great Ouse catchment, including large parts of the Fens, part of the Wash and North West Norfolk coast. Roles will start in July 2017 and January 2018.

RFCCs play an important role in deciding local priorities for flood and coastal work. They have a critical role supporting the Environment Agency and local authorities to work with communities and other partners to help bring in more funding.

More people are needed to help develop plans. They should have effective communication skills, be able to think strategically and bring enthusiasm, expertise and new ideas, using their particular skills and experience to advise and provide opinions during committee meetings.

A specific vacancy exists for a member with coastal expertise and focus. Someone able to network nationally and help develop innovative ideas with partners and communities. The RFCC has a varied and vulnerable coastline that extends from the west of King’s Lynn through to Hunstanton cliffs.

There are also 3 vacancies for general members and, in particular, applications will be welcome from people with knowledge and experience of incident management, community resilience, agri-business and industry, land drainage, water management or strategic/spatial planning.

New members will have a contact within the Environment Agency who they can work closely with to ensure they have a good understanding of the issues and discussions taking place at meetings and who will be happy to answer any queries.

RFCC members are all appointed as impartial individuals in their own right and not as representatives of any particular organisation. It is important that the committees represent the communities they serve. All public appointments are made on merit, following a fair, open and transparent process.

Members would be expected to attend 4 committee meetings per year and are able to claim expenses.

Anyone interested in helping to make a difference in their local area should get in touch to discuss further with Paul Burrows (Environment Agency Flood & Coastal Risk Manager) on paul.burrows@environment-agency.gov.uk or on 07824431597.

For an application pack please visit or contact Stephanie North on 02030 251938 or email AnglianRFCCs@environment-agency.gov.uk

Closing date for applications is 13 April 2017. Interviews taking place the week commencing 19 June 2017 at Environment Agency offices, Bromholme Lane, Brampton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 4NE.

You must apply to become a registered user of this licence and notify Natural England when you use it.

As a registered user you can interfere with badger setts under this licence to carry out development work or stop badgers causing serious damage by:

• monitoring setts using ‘soft-blocking’ techniques (temporary blocking with loose soil or vegetation) or inserting inspection equipment
• evicting and excluding badgers from setts using one-way gates
• destroying setts

This class licence replaces the need to apply for an individual licence each time you need to interfere with badger setts.

You can carry out works 5 working days after submitting a site notification, unless you hear from Natural England to say you can’t. You must submit:

• a report form of your actions 14 working days after completing works
• an annual report form to stay registered to use this licence

Natural England will make the licence, site notification form and report form available to you once you’ve registered to use this licence. The licence is free of charge.

Criteria to get registered

You can apply to be a registered user of this licence if you’ve:

• held at least 4 licences to close badger setts within the last 5 years (‘eligible licences’)
• successfully excluded badgers from 4 different sites, which include a main sett at 2 of the sites
• proven experience from previous licences of using one-way gates to exclude badgers from setts
• designed competent schemes in your method statements to show you can exclude badgers from setts without causing harm
• met the deadlines for submitting licence return forms with full details of action you’ve taken under licence
• had no enforcement action taken against you for any wildlife licences you’ve held
• had no convictions of wildlife-related or animal welfare offences in the last 5 years
• evidence that you’re a full member of a professional body (or an associate member for at least 3 years) such as the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with authority to handle misconduct

You can still apply even if you:

• don’t hold the required number of badger licences
• aren’t a member of a professional body

You’ll need to provide alternative evidence which meets the criteria. If you’re not a member of a professional body you’ll need to show how an appropriate third party would investigate malpractice.

Disability consideration

Email Natural England at badgerclnotifications@naturalengland.org.uk if you have a disability that makes it difficult for you to meet these criteria. Natural England will consider your request on its merits.

Apply to register

You can apply to register using the application form on this page. There’s no charge to apply.

To be eligible to apply you must provide Natural England with the reference numbers of 4 eligible licences you’ve held in the last 5 years. Two of these must be for main setts.

For each licence you’ve held you must have completed a method statement and return form.

You must send your completed application form by email to Natural England badgerclnotifications@naturalengland.org.uk.

Natural England will review the information you’ve submitted. You’ll get an email within 30 working days to tell you if you’re registered to use this licence.

If your formal application failed

You can re-apply for registration to use the badger class licence CL35 if you failed to meet the criteria the first time round.

You can choose to apply for an individual licence to interfere with badger setts for development purposes or to prevent serious damage.