But Mr Benyon told the BBC that with cuts to the Defra budget, the cost of making scientific assessments and then developing rules for the use of different areas could not be dismissed.

BBC: Cash shortage stretches to sea bed

He said the proposed changes were "not about cost-cutting but were about improving service delivery and making better use of resources".

BBC: Residential homes face cut from 56 to 28

It should ultimately be capable of making ultralight cars at automotive scale and cost, halving steel cars' weight and fuel use, improving safety, costing no more per car and saving oil equivalent to finding a Saudi Arabia under Detroit.

CNN: Freeing America from its addiction to oil