Yesterday I met Thames Water and reaffirmed the need for more action to be taken to ensure adequate water supplies for the south-east by adding to reservoir capacity. I also urged more retention of water in reservoirs or areas where it can be stored during periods of heavy rainfall and swollen rivers to reduce the flood risk.
The Environment Agency is holding a public consultation in Wilton, near Salisbury, to explain how it plans to reduce flood risk to local homes and businesses.
The Environment Agency is keen for local people to share their views on its proposals and any experiences they have of flooding.
The consultation will take place on 10 March 2017 from 3pm to 7pm, at:
The Cricket Pavilion
Recreational Ground
Wilton
Mark Goldingay of the Environment Agency said:
This event is an ideal opportunity for people to learn about the Environment Agency’s latest plans for Wilton. Environment Agency officers will be on hand to explain the proposals and the steps people can take to prepare themselves against flooding. We’d like to hear the views of local residents and look forward to sharing ideas on how best to reduce flood risk in Wilton.
Wilton’s existing flood defences protect some areas in the centre of the town. There are 30 properties currently at risk of flooding from the nearby River Wylye. In large flood events, flood water can bypass the defences and flow across the recreational ground towards the Castle Lane area. Properties in Crow Lane are also at risk.
The proposed solution is to build a raised flood embankment around the edge of the recreational ground, joining the existing flood defences beside Wiley Terrace. The height of the flood bank will be approximately 0.5m above existing levels with shallow side slopes. An access ramp would be provided over the embankment. A flood wall is also being proposed to protect properties in Crow Lane.
The proposed scheme would help protect the 30 properties in the centre of Wilton currently at high risk of flooding.
The Environment Agency aims to secure funding and obtain planning permission for a suitable scheme by the autumn of 2017. It will then draw up a detailed design and carry out further public consultation before starting construction in early 2018. If all goes well, the new scheme should be completed by the summer of 2018.
HSL is to run a 1 day course on Site and Transport Safety – BIRMINGHAM.
22 March 2017
Vehicle movements and loading and unloading vehicles can be some of the most dangerous activities carried out on a worksite.
This course will help you understand the legal requirements of both road traffic law and workplace safety law, how and why things go wrong, and how you can take practicable steps to reduce risk in your business.
Site managers and transport managers working in general haulage, retail, warehousing and distribution.
The cost of this course is £525 per person (includes course notes, certificate of attendance and lunch/refreshments).
etc. venues
Maple House,
150 Corporation Street
Birmingham,
B4 6TB
Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers. If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.
For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.
Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, speaking in response to
the launch of a UK report from the Refugee Council, said:
“This
report is a damning indictment of how this Tory Government treats refugees.
“The
complex, arbitrary and hostile processes they have introduced have created a
bureaucratic mess, with a backlog of almost 25,000 cases.
“Ministers
urgently need to implement a streamlined system that assesses claims fairly and
in a timely way, and treats asylum-seekers humanely.”
7 March 2017
Keith Taylor MEP: ‘The ability to revoke Article 50 means that no option is off the table, including the option to remain in the EU if MPs, and the people they represent, believe the exit deal is not in Britain’s best interests.’
Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, is highlighting the importance of the so-called ‘Dublin Case’ as the Government looks set for another Brexit bill defeat by the House of Lords today on giving Parliament a meaningful vote on the terms of leaving the European Union.
The amendment likely to be passed by the Lords rejects Theresa May’s plan to present MPs with a Hobson’s choice: accept the Government’s exit deal or crash out of the European Union without any deal. Instead, cross-party Lords are demanding MPs be given the ability to reject whatever deal Number 10 strikes with Brussels without the UK having to leave with no deal at all; a ‘meaningful vote’.
The so-called ‘Dublin case‘ seeks legal clarity over the question of whether, once triggered, the UK can unilaterally revoke Article 50. Mr Taylor is one of three Green politicians acting as a plaintiff in the case. Other plaintiffs include Green Party England and Wales Co-leader Jonathan Bartley, Green Party Northern Ireland Leader and recently re-elected MLA Steven Agnew and Director of the Good Law Project Jolyon Maugham QC.
Keith said:
“Today’s looming defeat of the government by the House of Lords is entirely sensible and welcome. And it begs the same question that the Dublin Case seeks an answer to: can the UK unilaterally revoke Article 50 once it’s been triggered?”
“Without an answer to the question, it is difficult to see how our sovereign Parliament can be given any hope of a meaningful vote. The ability to revoke Article 50 means that no option is off the table, including the option to remain in the EU if MPs, and the people they represent, believe the exit deal is not in Britain’s best interests.”
“As Greens, we are clear on the need for a ratification referendum at the end of the two-year negotiation process. The EU referendum should have been the start of a democratic process, not the end. The people must have the final say on the deal negotiated on their behalf.”
“If ‘taking back control’ is to mean anything, it should mean we have a right to think again and change our minds when we see what Brexit really means as opposed to what we were told it meant during the referendum.”