Park and flood: why do we let planners pave over our green valleys? | Patrick Barkham

Our last green corridors are being paved into parking lots, as predicted by Joni Mitchell. Will we know what we had when it’s gone?Valley bottoms are the last green corridors in congested cities and towns because most planners sensibly refuse to allow houses to be built on land that floods. However, these accidental linear paradises are temptingly blank spaces on planners’ maps: perfect for parking.A resident of Reading recently used the three minutes allotted to people speaking at l