The founder is Arthur Potts Dawson, no stranger to projects in the public eye.  He set up Acorn House, London’s first environmentally sustainable restaurant and was involved with Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen project.  His concept of the People’s Supermarket was to create a co-operative which was “owned by the people, for the people”.  The People’s Supermarket would be an alternative to the four supermarket giants of the U.K. – Tesco, Sainburys, Asda and Morrisons.

The Holborn branch

How would this work though?  How would the project afford to compete with the dominant supermarkets?  Competing is not really the point here; the concept is to maintain a self-sustaining business which would cater (at first) to like-minded people.  All produce would be locally produced and available at a fair price, “by connecting an urban community with the local farming community” but that’s not the most interesting part.

Everyone who wants to shop and take part in the co-operative must pay an annual membership of £25 and this entitles them to a 10% discount on all produce.  All members must be available for up to 4 hours of voluntary work at the supermarket each month.  Once you’re in the swing of things you can book your volunteering slots online at your convenience.

The original supermarket is in Lamb’s Conduit Street in Holborn and though it has experienced its fair share of ups and downs along the way the concept is undoubtedly an exciting one.  Exciting enough that a second London supermarket has now opened in Hackney.  But that’s not all; the project has been viewed with interest by groups in other towns and even other countries and Australia is one of the latest to jump on board.  There has also been contact with groups in Europe and Asia so perhaps the concept is here to stay.

As it’s name suggests, the CSAS was set up in response to the problem of coal smoke which the founder, Sir William Blake Richmond called “comparable to a total eclipse of the sun” in a letter to The Times, but it wasn’t until 1926 that the Public Health (Smoke Abatement) Act was introduced following campaigning by the CSAS.

Unfortunately for the history of the environmental movement, two devastating world wars were about to put a stop to anything not related to the provision of wartime necessities.  Countries such as the United States which were largely unaffected on their own soil now began to take the lead in the movement.

London Smog 1952

Post Second World War, the U.K. and Europe began to wake up to the problems being caused by industrialization and in 1952 the CSAS were once again instrumental in the passing of the 1956 Clean Air Act following the Great London Smog of that year.  As times changed and coal smoke began to disappear, the CSAS changed its name to the National Society for Clean Air (NSCA).  By the 1970s it’s focus was now on pollution from other sources such as transport and industry and it was largely responsible for the focus on Local Air Quality Management and how this was incorporated into the 1995 Environment Act.  The NSCA’s Air Quality Committee was a sub-organisation which brought together air quality experts and this group strongly influenced the 1995 Act.

It’s interesting to note how the focuses of the organisation has changed over the years; towards the end of the 1990s the NCSA branched out into noise pollution and land quality and finally, in 2007, it was renamed Environmental Protection U.K.

Over the life span of this group, many other environmentally conscious organisations have sprung up to agitate on behalf of their particular cause.  Some of the organisations are massive and global – Greenpeace is a good example – and some are extremely small local groups who campaign and work on behalf of single issues.  As we’ve noted above, the focus of attention constantly changes as new, perceived threats arise.  The advent of the nuclear power industry in the 1950s (and in particular the Windscale accident in 1957) not surprisingly attracted a new group of protesters unsure of the potential dangers of this new technology.

In the final analysis, campaigning works.  Protesting, lobbying, whatever you want to call it, has pushed the environmental agenda to the forefront of global media coverage and we should all be grateful for that.

One of the first examples of conservation and environmental protection appears to have occurred in the British Isles as long ago as the 7th century.  It was undertaken by Cuthbert of Lindisfarne who resided as something of a hermit on one of the Farne Islands. Apparently the only inhabitant of this particular island, Cuthbert made sure that his regular visitors did not disturb the nesting sea birds which also lived on the island.

In the 14th century, one of the early English parliaments outlawed the disposal of rubbish into lakes and rivers and the city of Cambridge attempted to pass urban sanitary guidelines.  Whether they were adhered or not is debatable; devastating cholera epidemics in the following centuries would suggest not but at least the thought was there.  In the 17th century Isaac Walton wrote his fishing guide, The Compleat Angler, which included advice on fish conservation.

By the 19th century there was a much greater emphasis on environmental concerns although today their efforts would appear minimal.  In 1876 parliament reinforced the laws on dumping into rivers and streams and in 1895 a thorough clean up of the River Thames and the London sewerage resulted in the return of a number of species of fish.

As the Victorians passed on their legacy to the Edwardians and the 19t century rolled over into the 20th century, the need for, and awareness of, environmental and conservation measures became more pressing.  ’Smog’ was the term coined in London in 1905 when air quality became a health issue and something clearly needed to be done.

Part Two follows……