The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.
These notices explain:
This project set out to estimate what value has been added to the environment in and around the Olympics site in East London through the Environment Agency’s engagement with the planning system.
It found that the Environment Agency used £1.5 million of resources to influence the spending of approximately £113 million, which achieved estimated benefits to people and the environment of £116 million over a 40 year period.
Updated: Terms and conditions document for agreement holders added.
The Water Environment Grant (WEG) scheme is part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).
The scheme closed at 5pm on 11 May 2018. The WEG team will not consider late applications.
Use the ‘Guide for agreement holders’ to understand what you’ll need to do if you get a grant – when you become an ‘agreement holder’. This guide explains:
The WEG claim form will be available shortly.
Use the ‘Terms and conditions for agreement holders’ to understand the terms of your agreement.
Use the ‘Guide for applicants’ to understand the scheme rules.
Use ‘Annex A: using geographic databases’ to help you find out more on water bodies and designated sites in your project’s area.
Over the next century a different approach is needed to protect the country from flooding, the Environment Agency’s Chief Executive said in a keynote speech at the annual Flood and Coast Conference today (Tuesday 20 March).
As he revealed that every £1 invested in new flood schemes saves the economy £10 in damages avoided, Sir James Bevan said that despite huge advances in flood protection, what worked so well in the past will not be enough in the future. Rising sea levels and higher populations in built-up areas will mean new approaches are needed to combat increasing flood risk. Since 2015, new flood schemes completed by the Environment Agency have benefitted more than 100,000 homes but to continue building on this success new 21st century approaches are needed.
These include a call for greater business investment, quicker emergency response and increased use of natural flood schemes, in addition to ‘hard’ defences, in order to reduce the impact of flooding on communities around the country. He questioned how these challenges should be dealt with and suggest that more concrete – simply building our flood defences higher and higher – is not the answer.
As he laid out his thoughts on the future of flood protection, Sir James Bevan said that tough questions had to be asked about what to protect. He questioned whether there might be a case for considering future funding priorities.
He said that everyone has a part to play to reduce flood risk and that homeowners in flood risk areas should know the risks and what action they can take – and he praised communities and flood groups who have already taken great steps in this area.
Sir James Bevan said:
Almost every day in this country, when rivers and tides rise, rain falls and storms blow, thousands of people sleep safe and unaware that they are being protected by flood defences.
But what works so well now – and has done in the past – may not be enough in the future. Over the next fifty years if we are going to give the country the best possible protection against flooding, we are going to need a different approach.
The Environment Agency manages flood risk on over 36,000 km of river, 9,000km raised flood defences and over 22,000 flood structures – from the Thames Barrier to local pumping stations. Since 2016, it has upgraded its response capability with more than 6,500 staff trained and ready to help protect communities when floods threaten, 40km of temporary barriers, 250 mobile pumps, and 500,000 sandbags. Partnerships to help respond during incidents have also been strengthened – including with the army.
Government is investing £2.6 billion in flood and coastal erosion risk management projects between 2015 and 2021.
Now in its third year, the annual Flood and Coast Conference brings together experts from across the globe to share ideas and opportunities to work together to tackle the risk of flooding and coastal erosion. More on the conference here: https://www.floodandcoast.com/.
The Environment Agency is currently working in its next National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy which will address these challenging questions raised in Sir James Bevan’s speech.
The Princess Royal toured the NDA’s £21 million facility in Wick accompanied by Chief Executive Officer David Peattie, who said:
We are extremely honoured to have received a visit from The Princess Royal to open Nucleus. It has been fantastic to see this important project come to fruition as a resource to preserve records from the country’s nuclear industry, as well as historical material from the Caithness region.
Her Royal Highness was greeted on arrival by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Caithness, Viscount Thurso. Also among the invited guests were the Lord Lieutenant’s wife Lady Thurso, former Lord Lieutenant Miss Anne Dunnett, MP Jamie Stone, MSP Gail Ross, representatives from Dounreay Stakeholder Group and local councillors.
During the tour, The Princess Royal met key staff from the archive’s operations team, who described how the documents were prepared, indexed, stored in a series of secure pods, with humidity and temperature kept stable to minimise the potential for deterioration. Mr Peattie addressed assembled guests and staff before inviting Her Royal Highness to unveil the plaque.
Nucleus has a dual role: as well as records from the country’s nuclear sites, Nucleus houses a collection of local Caithness records that have outgrown their existing home.
Since opening last February, an exercise has been under way to transfer plans, photographs, drawings and other records from diverse nuclear locations. The first collection to arrive came from nearby Dounreay and is being followed by Harwell records.
The painstaking ‘sift and lift’ process, expected to last at least 5 years, requires millions more documents to be examined before being either destroyed or carefully indexed and packaged for the move north.
Sellafield Ltd alone has more than 130,000 boxes of archived records in off-site storage, plus material on site and in various offices – estimated as stretching, if laid out, to more than 120km worth of paperwork. The 12 Magnox Ltd sites have a similar-sized collection in storage. The number of electronic records across the estate is believed to number hundreds of millions.
Eventually, decades-worth of records, both digital and hard copy, will be housed at Nucleus where they will be available for ongoing research. The facility will also fulfil an important role for a future geological disposal facility (GDF) that is being developed for the UK, acting as a central repository for detailed waste records that will be safeguarded for many generations.
Earlier this year, Nucleus was granted Place of Deposit status by The National Archive at Kew, following a rigorous assessment of all operational aspects. It is one of the largest accredited repositories outside London.
The building’s sleek, angular lines have also collected two prestigious design awards from the Architects’ Journal including Public Building of the Year 2017.