10 Jan 2018

Gove – Oxford Farming conference speech on reform of agricultural subsidy. It is a long read but there is a clear series of statements on, “Paying for what we value” later on in the speech. “The principal public good we will invest in is of course environmental enhancement. In thinking about how better to support […]

10 Jan 2018

There seems to be a growing awareness that water quality is not improving despite the best intentions of everyone concerned. In this report DWI provide an analysis of the sources of failure in drinking water quality in 2016. Although I missed this in 2017 it provides a useful reference for those following these matters. DWI […]

10 Jan 2018

Guardian: Damian Carrington Environment editor ‘A year of unusually dry weather means parts of England are facing summer drought with groundwater and some reservoirs well below normal. A year of dry weather, only slightly alleviated by recent storms, has left much of south-east England facing drought this summer. Groundwater and some reservoir levels are well […]

10 Jan 2018

The Environment Agency is proposing to change the way they charge for various permits.  This could result in significantly increased charges for river restoration projects, including those helping to achieve WFD objectives. A consultation process is currently underway and we would encourage all catchment partnerships to respond.  The consultation and all supporting documents can be found […]

07 Jan 2018

The next phase of the discard ban is introduced to encourage sustainable fishing. Defra Published 2 January 2018 From today (2 January), fishermen targeting certain fish in the North Sea must land everything they catch as the next phase of the discard ban for demersal species comes into force, Fisheries Minister George Eustice has announced. The discard ban, […]

07 Jan 2018

MPs call for “latte levy” on coffee cups  The Environmental Audit Committee calls on the Government to introduce a 25p latte levy on disposable coffee cups and for all coffee cups to be recycled by 2023. Read the interactive report summary Read the report summary Read the conclusions and recommendations Read the full report: Disposable […]

07 Jan 2018

Claire Perry eyes further clean growth to build on ‘greenest year ever’ Business Green ‘UK Climate Change Minister says country is doing “even better than we thought” against future carbon budgets, as she talks up plans to create more green jobs  Climate Change Minister Claire Perry has hailed 2017 as “a real UK success story” […]

07 Jan 2018

Is this the future? Dutch plan vast windfarm island in North Sea The Guardian: Advanced plans by Dutch power grid aims to build power hub possibly at Dogger Bank whose scale would dwarf current offshore sites. Britain’s homes could be lit and powered by windfarms surrounding an artificial island deep out in the North Sea, […]