22 Mar 2016

Environmental Audit Committee EAC: Flooding Co-operation Across Government Following another winter of severe UK floods, EAC is launching an inquiry into Government policy and action on flooding. We will be focusing on whether the Government’s approach is ‘joined-up’, and the extent to which cooperation across Government on this matter is successful. As part of the […]

22 Mar 2016

Edie Newsroom: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) looks set to enter a “five-year period of scrutiny” after MPs this week raised concerns over the Department’s ability to deliver on key flood protection, air pollution and animal welfare strategies with a special report.   Defra – which operates on a £2bn budget […]

22 Mar 2016

Susdrain and Hydro International both produce interesting newsletters on SuDS; sign up here. Five Update items 1.  Life with SuDS – a view from a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) susdrain David Edwards Blog: It has nearly been a year since the government included SuDS for major new developments in the National Planning Policy Framework. […]

22 Mar 2016

Despite being regarded as a country of fairly inclement weather, the UK has less water available per person than most European nations. Using water more efficiently will help ensure that bills remain affordable and water supplies are reliable now and in the future. Reducing pressure on water resources is necessary, not only by developing new […]

22 Mar 2016

Despite a raft of warnings from many bodies Defra continues to do very little to resolve the fundamentals issues surrounding air quality. ClientEarth who have a track record in bringing cases that force change in Government policy have issued a formal warning. The EFRA committee have already signalled their concern with an inquiry. ClientEarth has […]

21 Mar 2016

‘The Environmental Audit Committee launches an inquiry into the environmental impact of microplastics. Key issues include: the scale, sources and consequences of microplastic pollution in the ocean; strategies for dealing with the problem; and the state of our knowledge on the issue. Inquiry: Environmental impact of microplastics Environmental Audit Committee Microplastics come from a variety of domestic and industrial […]

21 Mar 2016

Three perspectives of marine spatial planning, the outcomes of an WOC-SAMS webinar with lots of links on MSP in the North Sea, the latest MMO planning update and Alec Taylor from WWF-UK on the need for more ambition in way UK is implementing marine plans. 1.  WOC ‘ North Sea Industry Leaders Participate in Webinar […]