The Environment Agency is reminding anglers of the importance of having a rod licence after two men were fined for fishing illegally in separate offences.

They were caught during targeted patrols on the River Derwent in Gateshead by Environment Agency Fisheries Enforcement Officers

On 28 March this year, Kyle Taylor-Allen, 30, of The Crescent, Dunston, Gateshead, was found coarse fishing at Swalwell without a licence.

He was also fishing during the close season, which is prohibited, and using illegal bait.
He was fined a total of £770, ordered to pay costs of £127 and a victim surcharge or £30.

On 13 April this year, Peter Blackett, 53, of Waterbeach Place, Newcastle, was found fishing without a licence at Rowlands Gill.

He was also fishing during close season, using an illegal bait and he had taken and killed a fish while fishing without the landowner’s permission, an offence under the Theft Act.

The offences were all proved in absence at Gateshead Magistrates’ Court on 3 July.

‘It’s vital anglers abide by the law’

Fisheries Enforcement Officer David Shears said: “It’s vital that anglers abide by the law to protect the future of the sport and the quality of our rivers and fisheries.

“We work closely with our partners at the police, angling clubs and the Angling Trust to identify where illegal fishing might be taking place.

“Our fisheries enforcement officers work hard to target those people flouting the law and we won’t hesitate to take action.

“Illegal fishing can be more costly that you think and hopefully this will act as a deterrent for any angler thinking of cheating the system.”

The close season started on 15 March and runs for three months, preventing fishing for coarse fish to give the fish a chance to breed.

All income from rod licence sales is used to fund Environment Agency work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, including improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers, tackling illegal fishing and working with partners to encourage people to give fishing a go.

A County Durham demolition company has been ordered to pay £6,180.46 after pleading guilty to breaking environmental laws.

PTS Demolition and Dismantling Ltd, which operates out of Hackworth Industrial Estate, Shildon, Bishop Auckland, was prosecuted for operating a waste transfer station without a permit at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on 5 July 2017. The court ruled it was a deliberate offence and ordered the firm to pay a fine of £3,500 and £2,680.46 costs.

The charges brought by the Environment Agency relate to the company’s attempts to reduce costs by starting its own waste transfer station.

An Environment Officer and a colleague from Durham County Council visited the site in July 2014 to provide advice on how to apply for an environmental permit and planning permission to do this.

In 2015, Environment Officers visited a further five times to give additional advice and guidance. At the same time they recorded evidence that the company was operating a waste transfer station illegally, including storing 100 tonnes of crushed aggregate, 15 skips full of mixed waste and a store of fire extinguishers.

In February 2016, PTS Demolition submitted a permit application, which was returned for failing to include the application fee. Following a further visit by Environment Officers to give more advice, the company submitted another application. This was also returned for failing to include a Fire Prevention Plan (FPP). Again, officers provided advice on how to complete an FPP.

Officers returned to the site on 11 August 2016. The levels of waste had reduced but some skips of mixed waste remained, along with a number of wooden railway sleepers and a skip containing glass.

Company given ‘every possible opportunity’ to comply

Jamie Fletcher, Environment Agency Area Environment Manager, said:

The regulations exist to protect the environment, legitimate business and local communities from the risk of harm. Every business dealing in waste, whether they produce, carry, sort, recycle, ship or dispose of it, has a responsibility to fully understand and comply with environmental laws.

We gave PTS Demolition every possible opportunity and extensive support to comply. However, not only did they store waste illegally, the company repeatedly ignored advice and failed to shut down operations.

Those that repeatedly fail to comply with regulations pose a heightened risk to the environment and undermine legitimate business. In such circumstances we will have no hesitation prosecuting to ensure that waste crime doesn’t pay.

The Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme, developed by the Environment Agency in partnership with Chorley Council, Lancashire County Council and United Utilities, and in collaboration with the Lower Yarrow Flood Action Group, will benefit residents who flooded on Boxing Day 2015, when 344 properties were affected. In 2012, 30 properties in Croston village flooded.

The scheme, which includes an upstream flood storage area on the River Yarrow and 600m earth embankment is capable of retaining up to 1.3 million m3 of water – equivalent to 520 Olympic size swimming pools.

Chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd cut the ribbon on the gate leading to the new embankment and was shown around the new scheme by Cumbria and Lancashire Area Director of the Environment Agency, Keith Ashcroft.

The opening also included a presentation by Dave Massam from the Lower Yarrow Flood Action Group and Neil Forsythe from the Environment Agency.

The scheme received £5.4 million of Government Grant in Aid funding, including £2.1 million from the Government’s Project of Acceleration and Growth (PAG) programme launched after the summer floods in 2012. Chorley Council contributed £1 million, Lancashire County Council £181.000 and £667,000 was received from local levy to finance the scheme.

While the risk is reduced, people living in this and other flood risk area should sign up for flood warnings and be prepared for flooding.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

In February 2016 I saw the devastating impact of the flooding in Croston and I am so impressed by the village’s recovery.

I want to celebrate the partnership between the community, the Environment Agency, the councils and United Utilities, who created the Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme together. Everyone has a part to play in protecting themselves from the risk of flooding, but it is by listening to each other and working in partnership that we get the best results.

Cumbria and Lancashire Area Director of the Environment Agency, Keith Ashcroft, said:

The village of Croston has a history of flooding, with 344 properties affected in the Boxing Day 2015 flood, 20 in 2012 and 205 in 1987 from the River Yarrow. This scheme allows us to control the flow of the River Yarrow and store water reducing flows downstream.

We have kept the community updated throughout the construction of the scheme, and the Lower Yarrow Flood Action Group was heavily involved throughout the project, including helping us to work with the whole community, who were able to walk along the embankment as part of the opening event.

Boat owners are being urged to make sure their vessels are registered – or face paying hefty fines.

The call comes after Environment Agency inspectors found two boats moored without their registration plates on the rivers Great Ouse and Nene.

The discovery resulted in the vessels’ owners being prosecuted and ordered to forfeit a combined total of more than £1,200.

Boats must be registered

It is a legal requirement for boaters to register any craft they keep, use or let for hire on Environment Agency waterways, and to clearly display a valid registration plate. Not doing so carries a maximum fine of £1,000, as well as a criminal record.

Mr Kevin Saggers of Lyn Road, Ely, and Mr Christopher King of Riverside Mead, Peterborough, both failed to register their vessels as required by law.

Mr Saggers, whose unregistered boat, named Lazy Lady, was found on 9 December 2016 on the Great Ouse at Littleport in Cambridgeshire, was proved guilty in absence and ordered to pay penalties totalling £734. Mr King, whose vessel, called Little Jo Larkin, was discovered on 26 July 2016 on the Nene at Stanground Marina in Peterborough, pleaded guilty and had to pay £493.

Their cases were heard at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 14 June and 22 June, respectively.

Offenders face £1,000 fines

Nathan Arnold, partnerships and development team leader at the Environment Agency said:

Our historic and precious waterways are an important part of our nation’s heritage and are enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people every year.

A significant part of caring for them, protecting them, and ensuring people continue to enjoy them is funded by boaters paying their way. Those who don’t contribute as they should are threatening the future of our waterways – and we won’t hesitate to take action against them.

Unregistered boats are hazardous

As well as not contributing to the upkeep of waterways, unregistered boats can be unsafe, hazardous to other river users, and a pollution risk to the local environment.

The Environment Agency looks after 353 miles of navigable waterways in the Anglian network, which includes the Ancholme, Black Sluice, Glen, Welland, Nene, Great Ouse and Stour, as well as associated locks and navigation facilities like moorings, showers and toilets.

More information about boating and waterways, including registering vessels, is available via www.gov.uk/ea. If you suspect a boat is illegal, please contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 or email waterways.enforcementanglian@environment-agency.gov.uk.

The Environment Agency has joined forces with local businesses to reduce the risk of flooding to the community and give wildlife a boost in Teesside.

Work has started on the £11million project, which will increase flood protection from Greatham Creek while creating around 30 hectares of extra habitat.

The Environment Agency is working with local businesses in the area with SABIC UK providing funding towards the scheme and INOVYN ChlorVinyls providing some of their land for the additional habitat creation.

And they are working closely with partners at RSPB and Natural England to design and build a scheme which maximises benefits for the internationally designated habitat, and to ensure disruption to wildlife and visitors to the local area is kept to a minimum.

New habitat creation

The first phase of the project, which saw new flood defences built at Port Clarence to reduce flood risk from the River Tees at a cost of £4.5million, was finished in December 2015.

Phase two will see the Environment Agency raise existing flood embankments along Greatham Creek, to reduce the flood risk to Port Clarence and land which is south of the Creek.

There will also be a managed realignment of part of the current flood defences. This means a new embankment to the north of RSPB Saltholme Nature Reserve will be built around a larger area of land, and then the existing flood embankment will be breached.

This results in the creation of around 30 hectares of intertidal habitat to the north of the nature reserve. It’s a popular area frequented by seals, and a variety of bird species including shelduck, knot and redshank.

Phase 2 is expected to be complete by the end of 2018. Together the projects reduce the risk of flooding from both the River Tees and Greatham Creek at Port Clarence, protecting 350 homes and 32 businesses.

‘Vastly improving existing defences’

The Environment Agency’s Senior Advisor on the scheme Phil Marshall said:

I remember well the devastating impact the tidal surge in December 2013 had on the area, affecting around 50 homes and businesses.

By working together with local industry we’re vastly improving existing defences to protect residents and businesses and reduce the risk of flooding now and into the future as sea levels start to rise.

It’s a great example of how we’re working closely with partners, businesses and communities to create long-term, sustainable solutions to flooding while also making enhancements to the environment.

This is a vital conservation area enjoyed by visitors from far and wide and we’re taking the opportunity to create 30 hectares of extra habitat to ensure wildlife continues to thrive.

In addition, while access to the creek is limited during the work, we are working with RSPB Saltholme to enable visitors to see live images from the creek of the ever popular seals.

Working in partnership

Daren Smith, SABIC Site Director (acting) added:

As a responsible company, SABIC take the protection of our environment and our communities extremely seriously. Our own land was devastated by the flood but our employees worked extremely hard and quickly with local agencies to rebuild some of the natural habitats that exist there.

SABIC are delighted to be working in partnership with the Environment Agency and other agencies to enable this vital sustainable project to be delivered.

Contractors BMMJV (BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald Joint Venture), are carrying out the work on behalf of the Environment Agency.

Phase 1 of the scheme saw new flood defences built in Port Clarence, consisting of a mixture of earth embankments, flood walls, and a raised section of the road on the approach to the Transporter Bridge.

In addition, the Environment Agency worked together with local business Wilton Engineering to install removable steel flood defences along the River Tees to improve flood protection while still allowing Wilton to operate from the river.

If you would like to know more about your risk of flooding and how to be prepared call Floodline on 0345 988 1188, or visit www.gov.uk/flood