05 Jul 2023
The government has updated its guidance for applying for bathing water designation in England. The guidance on applying to de-designate existing bathing waters has also been updated. The updates mean that the application process is now easier to follow and ensures the criteria for designation are clearly set out. Defra will use the updated guidance to […]
28 Jun 2023
The Government have confirmed that the new Sustainable Farming Incentive will start accepting applications in a controlled rollout from August, which will offer farmers additional actions and more flexibility to choose the actions they want to get paid for. Farmers will be paid for any action they take that supports food production and improves farm […]
14 Jun 2023
The UK government is consulting on the expansion of the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan to cover coastal and estuarine waters. Defra wants to know what you think about these changes, including: expanding the targets in the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan to cover coastal and estuarine waters developing an ecological standard for coastal and […]
13 Jun 2023
The UK government has launched a six-week consultation on expanding its targets to tackle sewage even further to cover all coasts, estuaries and marine protected sites in England. The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in August 2022, set out stringent targets to protect people and the environment, backed up by £56 billion capital investment – the largest […]
07 Jun 2023
Government has stepped up action to tackle harmful plastics and clean up our waterways by challenging producers of wet wipes to address concerns over how they label their products. Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has written to wet wipes producers setting out her concerns about the number of wet wipes that are flushed down UK toilets […]
18 May 2023
Defra has set out guidance on how developers can use habitat creation or enhancements to count towards their biodiversity net hain (BNG). If you’re creating or enhancing habitat as part of your development, you may be able to count this towards your BNG. You can still do this if the habitat required for your development is […]
26 Apr 2023
The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a new report ‘Regulating to achieve environmental outcomes’, in which it scrutinises whether Defra is using regulation effectively in pursuit of its environmental agenda. It found green improvements, including those relating to water, are being put at risk by shortcomings in Defra’s oversight of regulation. According to the report, […]
19 Apr 2023
Defra is seeking views on the government’s proposals to enhance the monitoring of storm overflows and final effluent discharges into watercourses. This consultation closes on 23 May 2023. Consultation description The Environment Act 2021 introduced requirements for sewerage undertakers to: monitor sewerage assets and the impact they have on their local environment, and publish data […]
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