Over the last seven months, Highways England has been carrying out a major junction improvement at Barton Hill near York to improve safety and visibility for road users. As part of this £2.8m scheme which completed on Friday, sections of the hedgerow, a number of trees and stone from an old water culvert had to be removed.

But rather than throwing these items away Highways England and its contractor A-one+ have given them a new lease of life by working closely with Jonathan and Julian Curtoys, the owners of Sloemotion.

Highways England project manager Russell Mclean said:

We saved as much of the hedgerow as possible but sections of the hedge had to be removed. The sloe berries used to produce the gin grow on hedgerows, so it seemed like the perfect solution to donate the hedge to this local sloe gin producing firm.

We were able to reduce the amount hedgerow we needed to remove by altering some of the scheme’s drainage and this work will also help to prevent flooding in the area. Some logs from the trees were also donated to Castle Howard stately home to be used as chippings in the ground.

Cabinetmaker and artist Mark Bennett, of the Woodlark in Malton, was also brought on board. He will be taking part of an Oak tree which was removed from the site and transforming it into a bar for Sloemotion. The remainder of the tree will be used to create bat and bird boxes, which will be placed near to the A64.

Mark will also be using some of the removed hedgerows to create innovative displays for the gin company’s products and hand cut stone from the culvert will be used to adorn the company’s new buildings near Barton-le-Willows.

Russell added:

Our work to improve safety at the junction will benefit over 9,000 drivers a day. We have converted the crossroads to a staggered junction by realigning Mains Lane, extended the culvert to allow the carriageway to be widened, constructed 200m of new road and realigned 600m of the A64. We have also relocated a bus stop, an emergency telephone and a pedestrian crossing.

While we were doing this we upgraded and extended an otter fence to prevent them coming onto the A64. And we have reinstalled an old milepost and will be replacing a historic road sign that has been refurbished.

Jonathan Curtoys, Managing Director of Sloemotion, said the junction improvements will benefit his employees who use the junction.

The changes will certainly have a positive benefit for drivers but then to also donating the hedgerow, the stones and timber to local businesses it feels like something is being given back to the community. I commend Highways England and A-one+ for this – it has been a pleasure working with them over the last seven months.

Mark Bennett of The Woodlark added:

It’s great that we can use what would otherwise have gone to waste and give something back to the environment such as the bird and bat boxes.

Later this year replacement hedgerows will be planted.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

DASA is launching this competition to seek ideas for innovative technologies that can provide an improved way to rapidly detect and locate hazardous biological agents in the field.The ultimate aim is for a fieldable system that would detect and report without users (including trained military specialists and civilian first line responders) coming into close contact with the hazard.

By detecting these hazards as early as possible and remotely, it will enable front line users to safely avoid them.

This competition has an initial budget of £500k for Phase 1. Additional funding is anticipated to be available for future phases of this competition.

This competition is now open and full details are available in the competition document.

The competition will close at 1pm on 7 November 2018

If you have any queries on this competition, please do contact us at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk or sign up for alerts.

The Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2018 came into force on 20 July 2018. It strengthens cost control measures for certain biomass conversion and co-firing stations by implementing annual flexible caps on the amount of support that units not protected by grandfathering policy can receive.

The caps come into operation from 1 September 2018 and apply to 2 types of biomass co-firing and conversion stations:

• capped generating stations, which comprise only non-grandfathered ‘capped’ units’
• mixed generating stations, which comprise non-grandfathered ‘capped’ units and grandfathered ‘exempt’ units

This explanatory note explains how both types of cap will operate during 2018 to 2019 and announces the level of the 2018 to 2019 exempt combustion unit estimate which will form part of the overall station cap for mixed generating stations.

Designed to raise public awareness of the global effects of illegal wildlife trade (IWT), the ’End Wildlife Crime’ campaign will include more than eight events across China over the coming months, all leading up to the fourth global IWT conference hosted in London in October.

The launch event took place in Beijing Fang and was in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

‘End Wildlife Crime’ comes at a particularly crucial time when our nature, forests, oceans and wildlife, have all been increasingly affected by human activities. Excessive deforestation and the expanding cities deprive the wildlife of their habitats. Many species are being poached for use in illegal trade. In the last decade, the number of elephants alone has declined by almost a third and around 20,000 a year are still being slaughtered because of the global demand for ivory.

With its continued commitment to wildlife protection, the UK will host the fourth global IWT Conference this October, convening over 40 countries, including China, to discuss and agree a way forward for tackling this important global challenge together.

The UK government in China launched this nationwide wildlife protection campaign to raise public awareness of the severe situation endangered species are facing to survive, including elephants, pangolins, rhinos and tigers. By introducing the global effects of illegal wildlife trade, the UK government would like to encourage the public to take a more active role in diminishing the demand of illegal wildlife products. This campaign will include a series of photography exhibitions, film festivals and panel discussions across China including in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing and Guangzhou.

During the opening ceremony, Martyn Roper, the Chargé d’Affaires of the British Embassy, said:

The UK and China have been working closely towards our joint goal of sustainable development, this includes through collective actions between our governments and our people on ecological and environmental protection and combating illegal wildlife trade together to protect the planet.

At the beginning of this year, China’s domestic ban on the commercial trade of ivory took effect. Likewise, the UK is committed to working ever closer with China in these areas. This October, the UK will host the fourth Conference to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in London, where we look forward to joining hands with China again in the rise of this global challenge.

We hope that through our campaign ‘End Wildlife Crime’ that more people will be aware of the important role we have to play in eradicating this global issue and saving our planet together.

Xu Maomao, the Project & Operations Director of IFAW said:

Irresponsible consumption and trade of wildlife productions are damaging the global biodiversity. Poaching and hunting of species like elephant, pangolin, rhino and tiger, excessive and mindless consumption of wildlife productions by some consumers are pushing the species to the brink of extinction.

We call for everyone to stop consuming wildlife and save their lives.

Notes to Editor:

About ‘End Wildlife Crime’

About IFAW

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is a global non-profit organization that protects animals and the places they call home. IFAW has offices in 17 countries and projects in over 40 countries, with over 200 experienced campaigners, legal and political experts, and internationally acclaimed scientists. Our work connects wildlife rescue and conservation, as we believe that the value of the individual animal is linked to the health of the population and ecosystem at large.

About Lumière Pavilions

Lumière Pavilions is a cinema investment company focusing on the development and operation of high-end cinemas in China. Since its establishment, the company has positioned itself as the trendsetter in the industry by way of its global vision, innovative designs and adoption of advanced technology. Its introduction of the world-class practices in design, construction, technology, content and service in compliance with international standards has not only garnered acclamation from the general audience but also elevated the company to emerge as a leading brand amongst the competition.

About the Jackson Hole Film Festival

The Jackson Hole Film Festival is a biennial 6-day conference, well-known and the most prestigious media event of the year devoted to the nature conservation, which gathers more than 650 international leaders in science, broadcasting, conservation, and media. That festival is dedicated to helping filmmakers find their own audiences, providing acquisition, marketing and distribution services. Also Jackson Hole Film Festival is a very exciting, social and educational event devoted to the Wild Nature, its problems and forecasts. It is supported by Jackson Hole Film Institute, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to empower filmmakers and audiences through film and new media.

You can cause soil damage and water pollution if you spread slurry or milk during exceptional weather or on unfavourable soil.

You must contact the Environment Agency if:

• your slurry or milk store is at risk of over flowing or leaking
• you cannot avoid spreading slurry or milk on agricultural land and there is a risk of slurry runoff, run-through to land drains or leaching
• you are at risk of breaching the legal requirements of:
  • nitrate vulnerable zones
  • storing silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil (SSAFO) rules
  • rules for farmers and land managers to prevent water pollution

You can only spread milk to land if you have a U10 waste exemption.

Definition of exceptional weather

Exceptional weather is weather that is not common, usual or reasonably expected. For example, the long exceptionally dry periods during the summers of 1976 and 2018.

It does not apply to weather that can be planned for. For example, wetter than average winter rainfall.

Contingency plan

You must have a contingency plan to avoid causing pollution during exceptional weather.

You must make sure that all your staff and contractors are aware of your contingency plan. It should include field inspections to consider the risk of slurry or milk getting into surface water or groundwater.

Work with neighbouring farms to create your contingency plan if possible.

Use the following hierarchy of options to make your contingency plan. 1 is the most favourable and 5 is the least favourable:

1. Store the slurry or milk at the place of production.
2. Store the slurry or milk at the place of use.
3. Dispose of the slurry or milk at an off-site anaerobic digestion plant or other effluent treatment plant, including at a sewage treatment works – milk can only go to permitted anaerobic digestion sites.
4. Store the slurry or milk off site.
5. Spread the slurry or milk on low run-off risk land.

Reducing the amount of slurry you produce

During exceptional weather you should reduce the amount of slurry (including lightly fouled water) you produce. You should:

• wash dairy parlours down with a low volume hose system (0.6 cubic metres per cow per month or 20 litres per cow per day)
• remove excess dung with a brush or squeegee before hosing down to reduce the amount of wash water you need to use
• keep animals on straw to produce solid manure rather than slurry
• divert uncontaminated surface water away from dirty yards
• keep or move livestock onto the smallest yard area necessary
• install, maintain or repair gutters and downpipes, especially on roofs that drain onto dirty yards
• consider covering exposed fouled yard areas

Temporary slurry storage

You must normally comply with SSAFO rules to store slurry.

However, the Environment Agency will waive the full SSAFO requirements if you want to store slurry for less than 12 months. You must only consider temporary storage where existing facilities are inadequate.

Temporary storage could include:

• reinstating disused stores
• reclaiming tanks
• new tanks
• earth bank lagoons
• lined lagoons
• slurry bags

To keep slurry in a temporary store you must:

• check planning requirements with your local planning authority
• contact the Environment Agency before construction
• agree each individual location with the Environment Agency
• install tanks, liners and slurry bags to manufacturer’s instructions
• make sure the base of earth bank lagoons is above the water table – there should be at least one metre of clay subsoil beneath the proposed base
• use a trial pit to confirm the depth of the clay layer – the resulting hole must be backfilled and puddled in
• use liners where there is doubt about soil permeability – lower grade liners should suffice for temporary storage but use high grade liners in high risk areas
• monitor it to make sure there are no leaks
• locate it at least 10 metres from watercourses and land drains – use temporary trial trenches if you’re unsure about the presence of land drains
• locate it at least 50 metres from groundwater sources
• de-commission it as soon as it’s no longer needed

If you’re using shared facilities you must:

• consider any biosecurity risks
• agree management arrangements
• agree where responsibility lies

For more information about storing slurry see CIRIA: Livestock manure and silage storage infrastructure for agriculture.

How to spread slurry or milk

You must spread slurry or milk:

• thinly and widely
• at an application rate not exceeding 20 m3 per hectare – you must use a lower application rate if run-off could enter surface water

You must only spread slurry or milk on land with low run-off risk.

Low run-off risk land:

• has an average slope of less than 3 degrees
• does not have land drains other than sealed impermeable pipes
• has not been pipe drained, mole drained or sub-soiled in the last 12 months
• does not have a shallow soil less than 30cm above fissured rock
• has a sufficient depth and suitable type of soil above groundwater to prevent pollution
• is not within a designated groundwater source protection zone 1
• is at least 50 metres from surface water or a conduit leading to surface water
• is at least 50 metres from springs, wells and boreholes where groundwater is used for human consumption
• does not have compacted soil or a soil surface which is capped – you can only spread where the soil is permeable and has a good structure
• does not have cracked soil above a land drainage system or groundwater

If you mix slurry with milk you increase the risk of lethal or explosive gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.

When the Environment Agency may not take enforcement action

When exceptional weather stops you being able to comply with legislation and guidance, spreading to land may be your only viable option. If you spread slurry and milk during exceptional weather without causing pollution, the Environment Agency may decide not to take enforcement action.

You must:

• contact the Environment Agency before you spread any slurry or milk to land
• agree with them that spreading is the only option available
• only spread the amount of slurry and milk you need to reduce the risk of pollution
• carry out spreading at a rate of ≤ 20m3 per hectare and on the lowest risk land available – you may be able to export the slurry and milk to neighbouring farms
• carry out regular checks before, during and after spreading to ensure there is no pollution taking place

You are still responsible for any pollution that you cause.

When to check back

This guidance will be reviewed by 31 October 2018. You will need to check back then to see if it still applies.

Contact the Environment Agency

Call the environment incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 out of hours or in an emergency.