17 Jan 2016

CEH ‘A relentless sequence of storms, record rainfall and sustained very high river flows in parts of the UK meant that December was an extraordinary month in both meteorological and hydrological terms, with wet conditions across the north contributed to the wettest calendar month on record for the UK (in a series from 1910). Slow-moving […]

17 Jan 2016

Water regulator must act to secure better deal for customers The Public Accounts Committee publishes report calling for the water regulator, Ofwat, to adopt new measures intended to secure a better deal for customers Report: Economic regulation of the water sector Report: Economic regulation of the water sector (PDF 153KB) Inquiry: Economic regulation of the […]

17 Jan 2016

One of the emerging themes of the Northern floods is how farmers and dredging debate has once again taken off. This note covers Liz Truss’s speech and some of the resulting commentary. Environment Minister addresses the Oxford Farming Conference https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/environment-minister-addresses-the-oxford-farming-conference–2    6 January 2016  Elizabeth Truss today delivered a speech to delegates at the annual Oxford […]

17 Jan 2016

Scottish Government: A plan to protect homes, businesses and communities from flooding has been launched by Environment Minister Aileen McLeod. The Flood Risk Management plan contains 14 local strategies and proposals for 42 flood protection schemes or engineering works planned for 2016-21 and a range of other flood alleviation measures. This will be supported by […]

17 Jan 2016

The Environment Agency is seeking views on proposed changes to charges for permitting for flood risk activities so they better reflect the costs to provide this service. The current £50 charge for a flood defence consent has been in place since 1991, but does not cover our costs to provide this service. The government expects […]

17 Jan 2016

This text is from the Catchment Based Approach website and it is interesting to note the range of material becoming available under the open access thinking. March 2015 update to the data & GIS package is now available including: – Landcover maps (LCM 2000 & 2007) – Risk of flooding from rivers and sea (NAFRA) […]

17 Jan 2016

Defra 17 January 2016 ‘Twenty-three new Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) will bring the total to 50 and cover more than a fifth of English waters. Twenty-three new areas along the UK coast were today announced as the latest Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) to be awarded environmental protection by the government, extending the country’s ‘Blue Belt’ […]

17 Jan 2016

The green light for North Yorkshire coastal path reinforces recent Government announcements   on their commitment to coastal path investment. Defra 15th Jan  ‘New coastal paths have been approved from Filey Brigg to Newport Bridge and Dunball Wharf to St Audries Bay. The longest single section of coastal path ever to be approved has been given […]