The Environment Agency has joined forces with expert anglers to collect valuable fisheries data for the River Tees.

The fifth annual River Tees Championship – a fishing survey match organised by the Environment Agency – saw 46 anglers take part.

Areas of the middle River Tees not normally fished were surveyed during the competition last Sunday, 3 September, from Croft to upstream Piercebridge.

The results were good, with all sorts of species caught and recorded during the valuable event.

Phil Rippon, Environment Agency Fisheries Technical Specialist said:

Despite low river levels making fishing conditions difficult, a variety of species were caught, including dace, chub, perch, bream and trout, with all sizes and numbers logged.

The data alongside our own surveys, will help us and our partners to better target habitat and fisheries improvements as well as helping us to understand about the distribution of fish species in the Tees.

Our thanks to the angling clubs and landowners who supported the survey, and to the organisers.

The winner of this years’ championship was Ant Smith who caught 21lb 7oz of Bream, Dace and Chub. All fish were safely returned to the river.

Environment Agency officers visit each bathing water beach from May to September every year to see what levels of bacteria are present in the water. Officers use results to maintain and improve bathing water quality.
Across Tendring, the majority of beaches have “good” or “excellent” water quality, based on regular water sampling by specially trained officers from the Environment Agency.

A huge amount of work has been carried out with partners at bathing waters across the area to maintain and improve water quality. As part of this, additional sampling is taking place at Clacton bathing water to help us obtain a clearer picture of pollution sources. A period of testing is being conducted this week, with samples of groundwater being taken from under the beach.

John Daniels, Senior Environment Officer, said:

Tendring’s bathing waters were generally of a very high standard, with excellent and good ratings for most beaches.

Samples are taken regularly throughout the bathing water season and this enables us to check they are safe for people to enjoy. We know how much people like going to the beach and the great benefit this has on the local economy. We will continue our work to ensure these standards are upheld.

We are working closely with partners to try and establish the cause of bathing water quality issues at Clacton. Investigations have led us to believe that contaminated groundwater is the most likely source of the problem.

We will continue to investigate the pollution sources at the beach to help improve water quality.
The public can also do their bit to keep our beaches clean. Last month the Environment Agency and partners continued their #binit4beaches campaign to encourage people to help keep beaches clean by always putting wet wipes in the bin – not flushing them.

Full details of the water quality results for Clacton and all bathing waters can be found at the Environment Agency’s bathing water quality data page: Bathing water quality page

The River Stour, which runs along much of the Suffolk/Essex border, will be utilised this weekend by up to 300 canoes and kayaks as dedicated paddlers navigate some 22 miles, through up to 18 portages from Sudbury, through Constable Country all the way to the coast at Cattawade.

The annual Sudbury to the Sea event, organised by the River Stour Trust, takes place this weekend (September 9 and 10) and thanks to the efforts of the Environment Agency those taking part will be enjoying a much clearer journey.

Dozens of fallen trees and other blockages have been cleared from the waterway, while several landing points have been repaired or refurbished in time for the event.

Environment Agency officers will be on hand alongside event marshals and River Stour Trust volunteers throughout the weekend to offer advice and answer questions from the public at key sites on the route as well as assisting participants as they negotiate some of the portages.

Among the locations that have undergone work is the portage at Lamarsh Regulator weir, which has been refurbished by the Environment Agency Waterways Operations team.

Paul Separovic, Waterways Operations team leader for the River Stour Navigation, said:

The Environment Agency has worked really hard and is responsible for maintaining the River Stour Navigation. We work closely with our partners on the river via the River Stour Users Group and the River Stour Trust to enable as many people as possible to fully enjoy what this beautiful river has to offer.

The River Stour is navigable from Brundon Mill just upstream of Sudbury all the way through to the tidal waters of the Stour Estuary at Cattawade and Manningtree for unpowered craft and a short section of a few miles is also open to powered craft.

Sudbury to the Sea is an annual event that attracts a surge of visitors to the river and is the River Stour Trust’s prime event on their calendar. It provides an ideal opportunity to showcase to a wider audience all that the River Stour has to offer. Over recent years we have invested on improving navigation infrastructure on the river and on maintaining and keeping the navigation clear.

Catherine Burrows at the River Stour Trust said:

We work in partnership with the Environment Agency and we would like to thank them for efforts made to maintain and keep the River Stour Navigation in working order.

We believe the upcoming Sudbury to the Sea event will be a great success and it gives people a chance to see what the River Stour Trust is doing to promote the river as a navigation and what our aspirations are for the future. Should anyone further wish to participate in this year’s event or future events or find out more about the River Stour Trust, please contact us.

Following a recruitment campaign for 5 Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) posts (Anglian Central, Northumbria, North West, South West and Thames), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is pleased to announce the following 4 RFCC Chairs’ appointments:

• Phil Rothwell as the Chair of the Northumbria RFCC
• Adrian Lythgo as the Chair of the North West RFCC
• Philip Rees as the Chair of the South West RFCC
• Professor Robert Van de Noort as the Chair of the Thames RFCC

Their appointments run from 1 September 2017 for 3 years until 31 August 2020.

All the appointments followed procedures set out in the Ministerial Governance Code for Public Appointments which came into force on 1 January 2017. There is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) to be declared. None of the appointees have declared any significant political activity during the past 5 years.

RFCCs help to provide governance for the Environment Agency (EA) Flood and Coastal Erosion risk management functions and cover all flood risks that are not the responsibility of the water companies. They have 3 main purposes:

• to ensure there are coherent plans for identifying, communicating and managing flood and coastal erosion risks across catchments and shorelines
• to promote efficient, targeted and risk-based investment in flood and coastal erosion risk management that optimises value for money and benefits for local communities
• to provide a link between the EA, Lead Local Flood Authorities, other risk management authorities, and other relevant bodies to engender mutual understanding of flood and coastal erosion risks in its area

All Chair posts attract a remuneration currently set at £17,503 for a commitment of 5 days per month except for the Northumbria RFCC post which attracts a remuneration currently set at £14,002 for a commitment of 4 days per month.

Anglian Central RFCC

No appointment was made for the Anglian Central RFCC post.

A new recruitment campaign for this post will be included as part of a wider recruitment campaign for other posts which will require new appointments. An announcement on this will be made shortly on the Public Appointments website.

Arrangements for a temporary chair for Anglian Central RFCC will be made in the meantime.

Background details of the 4 appointed RFCC Chairs are as follows:

Northumbria RFCC

Phil Rothwell has worked at a senior level in statutory agencies and charities for over 35 years. For 10 years he led the EA team dealing with flood and coastal risk policy including research, flood mapping and warning, planning and development in the flood plain and related policy. This included input to the Pitt Inquiry, the Floods and Water Management Act, and implementation of the Floods Directive. He was also one of EAs lead media commentators during flood events.

Phil retired from the EA in 2013 and has since worked independently on a range of issues including environmental implications of leaving the European Union, and setting up the new Floods Degree programme at Brunel University. He has for 3 years served on the Anglian Central RFCC, and also sits on the East of England Heritage Lottery Committee and the Anglia Water Sustainability and Resilience panel.

North West RFCC

In a career spanning more than 30 years Adrian Lythgo, BSC, CPFA, has held leadership positions in both the public and private sectors. From 2010 to February 2017 he was the Chief Executive of Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire. Concurrently between 2014 and 2016 he was Head of Paid Service of the newly created West Yorkshire Combined Authority until the recruitment of a full time Managing Director. In these roles, he provided policy advice to Councillors as well as being both organisations most senior official, working in partnership with a wide range of public organisations and private businesses.

An accountant by profession, Adrian was also Kirklees’s Director of Finance and performance from 2009 to 2010. Prior to that he was an Associate Partner at KPMG leading audit and advisory work at public sector nationally, with many North West based clients.

His earlier career was spent at both the Audit Commission where he was involved in the development of Best Value and Comprehensive Performance Assessment and audit work in Local Government and the NHS and at KPMG where his clients also included Universities, Colleges and other governmental organisations.
He has also held a variety of independent non-executive roles in public organisations and organisations that relate to the public sector.

South West RFCC

In addition to his role as a Chair of South West RFCC, Philip Rees is Chairman of Cornwall Care, a major provider of adult domiciliary care, and residential and nursing care homes. He has recently been Chair of the South West Coastal Group and Chair of the Board of Governors of Cornwall College, one of the largest Further/Higher Education Colleges in the UK.

For the majority of his previous career he was a director of a major construction, housing and property development company, responsible for commercial business development and, in latter times, Private Finance Initiative projects.

Philip owns and runs a small holiday complex and, with his wife, has a horse livery business both based in North Cornwall.

Thames RFCC

Professor Robert Van de Noort works at the University of Reading where he is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic Planning & Resource. Robert is responsible for planning and resource allocation at institutional level and he has oversight of the University’s capital investment programme; he is also the University’s champion for Gender Equality.

As an archaeologist, Robert is best known for his work in marine, intertidal and terrestrial wetlands and his research has looked at the impact of climate change of people living on the coast and near rivers in the past and present. Previously, Robert was Chair of the South West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (2013-2017).
Robert lives in Goring on Thames and is a keen member of the Goring Gap Boat Club.

The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

This decision includes the permit and decision document for:

• Operator name: Mr Stephen Tweddle
• Installation name: First Fairholme Farm
• Permit number: EPR/MP3734FQ/V002