We’re carrying out a review into whether the protections for National Parks and AONBs are still fit for purpose. In particular, what might be done better, what changes will help and if the definitions and systems in place are still valid.

The review will be led by Julian Glover and supported by an experienced advisory group. The members of the group have been announced as Lord Cameron of Dillington, Jim Dixon, Sarah Mukherjee, Dame Fiona Reynolds and Jake Fiennes. The review started in June 2018 and will report in 2019.

The review’s terms of reference set out what it will look at and how it will be carried out.

What it’s about

It is nearly 70 years since a bold decision was taken by Parliament to preserve some of England’s finest landscapes and help people visit and enjoy them.

England is home to 10 National Parks and 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Their rugged mountains, unspoilt coastlines, farmed landscapes and vast moorlands attract more than 260 million visitors a year and are home to over 2.3 million people.

Now, 7 decades after a visionary report led by Sir Arthur Hobhouse led to their creation, it’s time to renew the mission. As part of the 25 Year Environment Plan, the government has asked Julian Glover to lead an expert panel looking at how these protections can be renewed.

The review’s purpose is to ask what might be done better, what changes could assist these areas, and whether definitions and systems – which in many cases date back to their original creation – are still sufficient. Weakening or undermining existing protections or geographic scope are not considered.

Instead, the review will look at:

• the existing statutory purposes for National Parks and AONBs and how effectively they are being met
• the alignment of these purposes with the goals set out in the 25-Year Environment Plan
• the case for extension or creation of new designated areas
• how to improve individual and collective governance of National Parks and AONBs, and how that governance interacts with other national assets
• the financing of National Parks and AONBs
• how to enhance the environment and biodiversity in existing designations
• how to build on the existing eight-point plan for National Parks and to connect more people with the natural environment from all sections of society and improve health and wellbeing
• how well National Parks and AONBs support communities
• the process of designating National Parks and AONBs and extending boundary areas, with a view to improving and expediting the process

What happens next

So far, the review has focused on visiting these places and talking to people that visit, live or work in and care for them. Between them, the panel have already visited many National Parks and AONBs and plan to continue this into 2019.

We expect to publish the report making recommendations to government in Autumn 2019.

Who’s involved

Led by Julian Glover, the panel also includes Lord Cameron of Dillington, Jim Dixon, Sarah Mukherjee, Dame Fiona Reynolds and Jake Fiennes.

Learn more about the panel members

Julian Glover – Lead Reviewer

Associate editor at the London Evening Standard and author of the biography Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain. He has worked as leader writer and columnist at the Guardian and as a Special Adviser in Number 10 and the Department for Transport.

Lord Cameron of Dillington

Cross-bench peer, farmer and landowner. As the former Chair of the Countryside Agency, he is a strong advocate for rural affairs. He is currently the chair of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 Committee and the Advisory Council for the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. He is also on the Steering Board of the Government’s Global Food Security Programme.

Jim Dixon

Chief Executive of the Peak District National Park Authority for 12 years, before stepping down in 2014. He is currently a writer on countryside issues, including for the Times, and a trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Sarah Mukherjee

Former BBC environment and rural affairs correspondent and previous Director of Environment at Water UK. She is currently Chief Executive of the Crop Protection Association. She is a trustee and advisory group member for several charities, supporting both environmental stewardship and education in farming.

Dame Fiona Reynolds

Formerly the Director-General of the National Trust and current Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Chair of the Green Alliance. She is the author of The Fight for Beauty (2016), a history of thought and public policy on landscapes and environment in Britain.

Jake Fiennes

Became General Manager for Conservation of the 25,000 acre Holkham Estate in autumn 2018 after 24 years as Estate Manager promoting nature conservation alongside arable farming at Raveningham Estate. He is also a trustee and advisory group member of several organisations including the National Farmers’ Union’s Environmental Forum and the Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.

Environment Agency enforcement officers in Nottinghamshire will be patrolling waters throughout the East Midlands this bank holiday weekend (26 to 28 May 2018) as part of a clampdown on illegal fishing.

The officers will be making sure anyone fishing is obeying the law. They’ll be checking that people are not fishing in waters closed to anglers, are using the right tackle and equipment, and have a valid fishing licence.

Fish legally this bank holiday

Bank holiday weekends are a great opportunity for families to get out and do some fishing on waterways and the Environment Agency is keen to ensure everyone is enjoying themselves and doing the right thing.

In April this year, enforcement officers checked 1,074 anglers, with the majority being fully licensed and compliant. In that period, officers reported 31 people for offences. During the last May bank holiday weekend, 530 anglers were checked and 30 people were reported for offences.

Callum Underhill, fisheries enforcement officer at the Environment Agency, said:

We will once again be out and about around the county this bank holiday to make sure everyone is fishing legally. Anyone caught breaking the law can expect to face prosecution.

We regularly carry out enforcement operations in order to protect fish stocks and improve fisheries. We take all kinds of illegal fishing extremely seriously, whether it’s fishing without a licence, using illegal equipment or fishing in the close season.

Illegal fishing is not just unfair on other anglers who fish within the law, it also endangers the future of the sport by damaging the sustainability of fish stocks, so it is important for people to report to us any information about suspected illegal fishing so we can investigate.

Officers to target hotspots

The Environment Agency’s work is intelligence-led and officers work closely with partners to target known hotspots and act on reports of illegal fishing.

Anglers are reminded that it is currently the close season for coarse fishing, so fishing for coarse fish on rivers and streams is not permitted. This is to protect breeding fish, helping to safeguard stocks for the future. Anglers are encouraged to check which waterways are open to fishing by reading their area’s byelaws.

Investing in fish

Money from fishing licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries, and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers, including protecting stocks, restoring fish stocks through re-stocking, eradicating invasive species, and making fish habitat improvements. Fishing licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.

Anyone who wants to go fishing needs to buy a fishing licence. A full annual licence costs from just £30 and is available online.

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: Range Farm Limited
• Installation name: Range Farm
• Permit number: EPR/KP3939YX/A001

The monthly landings statistics will be released at 9.30am on the 4th Friday of each month, or the next working day if this is a bank holiday.

The Environment Agency (EA) has released hundreds of thousands of roach and bream larvae into the River Witham on Friday (25 May 2018), to kick-start the river’s recovery process following a major pollution incident in early March.

Following the pollution of the river in March, which is estimated to have caused the death of at least 100,000 fish, the EA has been working to bring those responsible to justice, as well as to ensure that the river recovers as quickly as possible.

Pollution killed at least 100,000 fish

The EA has staff dedicated to the pollution incident full-time and is continuing to take regular samples of the water quality in the Witham as the river recovers.

The release of the larvae into the river forms an important first step on the road to recovery, which could take many months or even years as the river’s complex ecosystem gets back to full health.

The fish larvae have come from the EA’s national fish farm in Calverton, which produces around 450,000 fish of 9 species each year for re-stocking. Calverton Fish Farm is funded by income from fishing licence fees, and last year it delivered more than 6 million advanced reared larvae back into the wild.

First step in river’s recovery

Environment manager Simon Mitchell said:

The release of thousands of larvae, reared by our own fish farm in Calverton into the River Witham, marks an important step on the road to the river’s recovery.

According to our latest estimates, the pollution incident in March caused the death of no fewer than 100,000 fish – although the exact figure is likely to be higher. As a river is a complex ecosystem with different species recovering at different rates, the full recovery process may take many months or even years.

We take pollution incidents like this extremely seriously and will always seek to prosecute those who negligently damage our precious environment and wildlife. We have staff continuing to work on this pollution incident full-time, as the river progresses through the recovery phase.

Re-stocking is made possible through fishing licence fees, which fund Calverton Fish Farm. An annual fishing licence is available from only £30, and is easily bought online.