20 Aug 2026
Photo by Sarah Doffman on Unsplash The UK Government has published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which introduces a dedicated flood risk and coastal change chapter (Policies F1-F9), bringing greater visibility and structure to flood risk planning policy. The framework introduces policy W1, which requires development plans to be informed by early […]
20 Aug 2026
Photo by Dibakar Roy on Unsplash Countries around the world are bracing for food price rises as a result of damage to harvests from record heat and lack of water, and the World Food Programme predicts that 50 million more people could be pushed into hunger by the “super El Niño” weather system currently developing. It is […]
20 Aug 2026
Photo by Emma Wurfel on Unsplash Thames Water on alert to re-activate UK’s only mainland desalination plant The UK’s only mainland desalination plant may be restarting operations later this year, says Thames Water. The utility firm, which operates the plant in Beckton, east London, is on alert to activate the facility as London reservoir […]
20 Aug 2026
Photo by Johnny Such on Unsplash The UK government announced a £65mn funding package on Friday (14 August), to improve water access and drought resilience for struggling farmers. The measures announced include up to £15 million for on-farm reservoirs and plans to make it easier to develop new water storage infrastructure. Using the “C” word […]
20 Aug 2026
Photo by Jonathan Bean on Unsplash While some parts of the UK are set to receive the “first meaningful rain for a long time” in the coming days, it reportedly will not be sufficient reverse widespread drought conditions that continue to strain wildlife, farmers, firefighters and water resources. According to Environment Agency data from […]
20 Aug 2026
Photo by Tom Wheatley on Unsplash Where are the water company emergency drought plans? The Guardian reports that the UK government is being accused of acting irresponsibly by refusing to publish water companies’ emergency drought plans. Water firms are required to publish statutory drought plans every five years to set out how they will […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo by Michael Grant Scotland’s marine minister has confirmed that a consultation on new fishing restrictions across more than 160 inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and sensitive habitats will launch “in the coming weeks”, with the consultation period extended to 16 weeks to allow fishing communities more time to respond. Jim Fairlie MSP, minister […]
18 Aug 2026
Photo of Maunsell Forts in the Thames Estuary, by James Boreham UK waters have been gripped by a marine heatwave since February, with the southern half of the country still experiencing category I-III conditions in mid-August and pockets of the Dorset coast reaching category IV, “Extreme,” the most severe classification on the scale. Scientists […]
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