15 Mar 2022

It has been widely reported that a new  independent Commission is being set up to assess tidal renewable projects in the Severn Estuary. The assessment of the feasibility of schemes within the estuary is not new – the  Sustainable Development Commission in 2007 released a comprehensive report and ten years later the ‘Hendry Review’ was […]

15 Mar 2022

Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots MLA has said that we must all work together to protect and restore one of our important natural assets, our blue carbon habitats. The Minister made his comments during an Oral Statement in the NI Assembly, where he outlined his Department’s intention to develop an action plan […]

15 Mar 2022

As reported in ENDS [paywall] and the Independent, a new report by the Plastic Soup Foundation states that millions of waste plastic “nurdles” from UK sewage plants on the east coast are polluting the North Sea and reaching the Dutch coast. Sewage plants in Britain use black “bio beads”, also known as nurdles, to filter water, but spillages […]

15 Mar 2022

We previously covered the news that Chris Grayling, MP, was introducing a Ten Minute Rule Motion entitled ‘Marine Protected Areas (Bottom Trawling)’. The Hansard record can be found here and a second reading of the Bill is due on 18 March. As reported in Fishing News: introducing the private members’ bill, which will ‘regulate and […]

15 Mar 2022

Reuters have reported that the successful ScotWind partners, ScottishPower and Shell, are set to invest a total of £75 million to help the supply chain and businesses support the growth of the offshore wind industry in Scotland. ScottishPower and Shell were awarded the seabed rights to develop two new floating wind projects through Crown Estate […]

15 Mar 2022

Scientists at the University of Portsmouth believe a strategy used to protect popular surfing spots could now be more widely adopted to help preserve endangered coastal environments. A new research paper, published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, says, ‘wave reserves’, initially aimed at protecting treasured surf spots, are also a way to ensure the conservation […]

10 Mar 2022

Ofwat has announced that it is opening enforcement cases into five water and wastewater companies as part of its ongoing investigation into how companies manage their wastewater treatment works. Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water have been served formal notices to gather further information for enforcement purposes. This follows analysis […]

10 Mar 2022

“Water is the most important thing there is” – Remarks by Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Water, 3 March 2022 “Water is about the most important thing there is: it’s essential for life and everything else. Water – its quantity and its quality – […]