A new Crown Estate Bill received its second reading in the UK House of Lords, with the Minister responsible, Lord Livermore, stating that that widening the scope of activities the Crown Estate can engage in will “allow it to further invest in the energy transition” and “will support the delivery of its core purpose across […]
New Legislation comes into force which aims to help ensure cockle fisheries in Wales remain environmentally sustainable and economically viable for the future. The Cockle Fishing Management and Permitting (Specified Area) (Wales) Order 2024 will simplify regulations and give the Welsh Government new tools to flexibly manage each cockle fishery in response to evidence about […]
The Welsh Government proposes to introduce a Marine Planning Notice (MPN) to identify Strategic Resources Areas (SRAs) for tidal stream energy. Tidal stream energy resource occurs in several areas around the Welsh coast, mainly where water flows are restricted, such as areas around coastal headlands. However, there are a limited number of small and discrete […]
The Welsh Government has granted TotalEnergies and Simply Blue Group consent for Wales’ first floating windfarm located 40km off the coast of Pembrokeshire. The windfarm will be become the largest of its kind in the UK. Project Erebus will house 7 next-generation 14MW turbines on floating platforms, providing enough low carbon energy to power 93,000 […]
The Tidal Lagoon Challenge, initiated as a Programme for Government commitment, aims to position Wales as a global hub for emerging marine technologies. Launched in June 2024, it allocated a £750,000 grant fund to projects targeting two main objectives: overcoming barriers to tidal lagoon development; and quantifying potential benefits. Examples included addressing environmental uncertainties and […]
£1 million of Welsh Government funding is being made available to boost the marine, fisheries and aquaculture industry in Wales, Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has announced. This support comes from the Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme, the application window for which opened on February 29. With grants ranging from £500 minimum to £100,000 maximum, […]
The Welsh Government has published a review of the costs and benefits of different storm overflow control policies for Wales. The analysis considers capex, opex, bill impact, benefits, net present value and carbon associated with both traditional infrastructure and “blue green” approaches. The report finds that The capital costs of removing the harmful environmental impacts […]
The Welsh Government has published a Schedule 3 Post Implementation Review for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, which requires SuDS on most new development, was commenced in Wales in 2019. (It is yet to be commenced in England). The review is grouped into four categories: Governance […]