Anyone who frequently travels on the A59 between York and Harrogate is likely to have noticed a construction site at Skipbridge, Green Hammerton.

Taking place under the bridge, the Environment Agency is building a new channel to enable river flow meter readings to be taken.

Project manager Oliver Wilson said:

This is one of the Environment Agency’s critical assets for our flood warning service and for managing water resource available for abstraction.

Having an early warning that the Ouse could overtop in York means we can act early to prevent flooding by closing flood gates in the city.

The project involves building a concrete lined channel under the width of the River Nidd.

But building structures in a river channel is no easy feat, so a cofferdam has been built.

One half of the river is dammed off to create a dry working area to enable construction on that side, before the other side is dammed and the new channel structure can be completed.

The construction under the river enables an ultrasonic device attached under the bridge to measure the exact flow of water coming down the Nidd, which joins the Ouse about a mile downstream at Nun Monkton.

There was an existing concrete channel built a number of years ago but due to the design and flow dynamics it created in the river the bed got silted up, causing incorrect flow readings and it not working as an effective gauge station.

The new channel is designed to make sure sediment passes through it and flow readings are accurate.

Mr Wilson added:

Lower river levels have enabled us to make really good progress and we expect the gauge station to be fully functioning this winter.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Highways Department has carried out work on the bridge and road earlier this year and Northern Powergrid also recently installed an electricity line across the bridge.

At a speech celebrating the Northern Powerhouse in Newcastle today (Thursday 5 July), the Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark announced a range of measures to place the UK at the forefront of the global shift towards clean growth as part of our Industrial Strategy.

Following a speech by the Prime Minister last month, Greg Clark outlined how the government will deliver the Clean Growth Grand Challenge’s first ‘mission’ to halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030, saving families money.

Building on the momentum of ambitious energy efficiency measures within the public sector, the Secretary of State announced that central government will work towards a more stretching target with a reduction of 43% greenhouse gas emissions by 2019 to 2020 compared to 2009 to 2010 levels, potentially delivering £340 million in savings. We will also be publishing guidance on targets for the wider public and higher education sectors.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said:

Our new, ambitious target for reducing emission across our central estate shows how this government is continuing to lead the world and rise to the challenge of tackling climate change. We have made significant progress so far, meeting our previous target 3 years early and saving just over £100 million last financial year as a result.

The potential savings from this can make a big difference across the wider public sector, with the NHS saving £2 billion over the last decade; money that can be put straight back into frontline services where it’s needed most.

Industry energy efficiency

We need to revolutionise the way we heat our homes and businesses, to support this, the Business Secretary announced that government will be launching the £18 million Industrial Heat Recovery Support programme with applications invited in the autumn. This is intended to encourage industry to invest in heat recovery technologies, harnessing the power of heat which would otherwise go to waste to help improve the efficiency of industry and reduce costs.

Speaking today, Greg Clark said:

Of the more than $11 trillion investment expected in global power in the next three decades, 86% – is expected to be in low carbon. And by 2040, electric vehicles could make up over half of global car sales, compared to 1% today.

We will be working with businesses to highlight these opportunities during the first ever annual Green GB Week starting on the 15 October.

The Business Secretary also launched the Construction Sector Deal will bring together the construction, manufacturing, energy and digital sectors to deliver innovative approaches that improve productivity in construction and accelerate a shift to building safer, healthier and more affordable places to live and learn that use less energy.

Notes to editors

1. The Greening Government Commitments require central government departments to adopt sustainable practices, including greenhouse gas emissions.

2. We have announced a new target to reduce emissions by 43% by 2020, compared with 2009 to 2010 levels. This has the potential to deliver savings of £340 million in 2020 compared to a 2009 to 2010 baseline.

3. The previous target for government, as a whole, was to reduce emissions by 32% by 2019 to 2020, compared with 2009 to 2010 levels. This was exceeded 3 years early with a 33% reduction by the end of 2016 to 2017, resulting in a saving of £104 million in 2016 to 2017 compared to the 2009 to 2010 baseline.

4. We are also publishing guidance for wider public and higher education sectors to report against a voluntary target of more than 30% reduction in emissions by 2020 to 2021: Emissions Reduction Pledge 2020: emissions reporting in public and higher education sectors

5. The Industrial Heat Recovery Programme will open for applications in Autumn 2018.

6. The successful applicants from the 2 £10 million innovation competitions include northern companies such as Free Running Buildings in Leeds who are pioneering low energy ventilation technology, and Hull University who will develop a high efficiency, low carbon heating system for public buildings in Yorkshire.

Scallop stock assessment 2016/2017 research carried out by Cefas.

Defra Ministers have appointed Krishnan Guru-Murthy to the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens. They have also reappointed Catherine Dugmore and Nick Baird for second terms.
RBG Kew is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body created under the National Heritage Act 1983, is sponsored by Defra. The Board of Trustees comprises a Chairman and eleven members.

Trustees provide non executive leadership and support to the executive through regular Board meetings, committees and groups.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s appointment is for 3 years and will run from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2021. Catherine Dugmore’s and Nick Baird’s reappointments are for 3 years and will run from 1 June 2018 to 31 May 2021 and from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2021, respectively.

The appointments have been made in accordance with the Ministerial Governance Code on Public Appointments. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.

There is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) to be made public. The appointees have not declared any significant political activity in the past five years.

Trustees do not receive any direct remuneration for their services, although reasonable travel and subsistence expenses can be reimbursed.

Biographical details of Trustees

Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Krishnan Guru-Murthy is a presenter and reporter on Channel 4 News and on Channel 4’s Unreported World. He was previously a presenter and reporter for the BBC. He is a member of the executive committee of the Edinburgh Television Festival and a patron of Duchenne Children’s Trust.

Catherine Dugmore

Catherine Dugmore is a qualified Chartered Accountant. From 1988 to 2002 Catherine worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, latterly as an audit partner based in Johannesburg. In addition to her role as a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Catherine is a Board Member of Natural England and a Trustee of WWF-UK. She has worked in the NHS since 2012 and currently holds a non-executive role at Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust. She was formerly Vice-Chair and Trustee of Action for Children and Chair of Victim Support.

Nick Baird

Nick Baird is currently Group Corporate Affairs Director of Centrica plc. He previously had a long and varied career in Government, his roles including CEO of UK Trade and Investment, Director General in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office leading its work on Europe, the global economy and consular issues, and British Ambassador to Turkey from 2006 to 2009.

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: L.J. Fairburn and Son Limited
• Installation name: Orby Farm
• Permit number: EPR/QP3132JE/A001