The image of the decaying town shopping centre, retail units empty, to-let signs plastered across whitewashed windows, is fast becoming the norm across the UK.

So in the midst of this retail wasteland, lies fertile space for radical redesign and regeneration. Perfect territory for permacultural thinking. One such project, York Place, in Newcastle-Under-Lyme has sparked a revolution in our perception of ‘the shopping centre’ and is proving that they can, and should be, so much more than just places to buy stuff.

Congratulations, we have officially broken the back of winter and from here on in light and temperature levels will slowly start to improve. Certainly the light levels bit is guaranteed...This month we offer you some excellent advice from permaculture friend and no-dig guru, Charles Dowding. Topics discussed include: what you can sow now, advice on potting compost, and his zero fossil fuel hot-bed propagator system.