National Highways will be holding a series of public information events where people will be able to hear more details about the first phase of the work, which starts in September. The first event is next Sunday 26th June in Guildford town centre.

Junction 10 on the M25 – the interchange with the A3 at Wisley – is one of the busiest in the country and experiences large queues and heavy congestion on a daily basis. It also has one of the highest recorded collision rates across England’s motorways and major A roads nationally. This project will reduce collisions by around a third but also create a better connection and smoother traffic for the 300,000 drivers who use it every day.

The scheme also features some of the most extensive environmental work ever carried out by National Highways, restoring over 25 hectares of heathland as well as planting new woodland.The UK’s first ever heathland green bridge will link Ockham and Wisley commons for the first time since the A3 was built.

The scheme was given the go-ahead by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last month.

National Highways senior project manager Simon Elliott said:

This upgrade will not only deliver improvements for drivers, but there will be huge benefits for local people, equestrians and walkers alike. We have worked on our plans not only so that the scheme makes a real difference for the 300,000 drivers using the interchange each day, but we are undertaking a major restoration of the heathland which will have a huge positive impact on the local community and visitors to the area.

We are holding public information events starting next Sunday in Guildford town centre so people can come and speak to the project team and find out more about our plans, and what to expect when we start work in September.

As well as the in-person events, there will also be virtual ones. Details on these, as well as more about the scheme, including visualisations and a virtual information portal, can be found on the project website.

General enquiries

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

Media enquiries

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

National Highways will be holding a series of public information events where people will be able to hear more details about the first phase of the work, which starts in September. The first event is next Sunday 26th June in Guildford town centre.

Junction 10 on the M25 – the interchange with the A3 at Wisley – is one of the busiest in the country and experiences large queues and heavy congestion on a daily basis. It also has one of the highest recorded collision rates across England’s motorways and major A roads nationally. This project will reduce collisions by around a third but also create a better connection and smoother traffic for the 300,000 drivers who use it every day.

The scheme also features some of the most extensive environmental work ever carried out by National Highways, restoring over 25 hectares of heathland as well as planting new woodland.The UK’s first ever heathland green bridge will link Ockham and Wisley commons for the first time since the A3 was built.

The scheme was given the go-ahead by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last month.

National Highways senior project manager Simon Elliott said:

This upgrade will not only deliver improvements for drivers, but there will be huge benefits for local people, equestrians and walkers alike. We have worked on our plans not only so that the scheme makes a real difference for the 300,000 drivers using the interchange each day, but we are undertaking a major restoration of the heathland which will have a huge positive impact on the local community and visitors to the area.

We are holding public information events starting next Sunday in Guildford town centre so people can come and speak to the project team and find out more about our plans, and what to expect when we start work in September.

As well as the in-person events, there will also be virtual ones. Details on these, as well as more about the scheme, including visualisations and a virtual information portal, can be found on the project website.

General enquiries

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

Media enquiries

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

The Environment Agency has started ground investigation work in Tadcaster, an important milestone of the project to build a new flood defence scheme for the town.

Environment Agency contractors are drilling boreholes along the river using specialist equipment so that the project team can understand the composition of the ground where new flood defence walls are being proposed. This will ensure that the defences that are constructed are to the right standard.

Work is also being done to strengthen and improve the current defences at four locations to help prevent localised early ‘overtopping’ of water over the flood banks during a flood. Although this work wouldn’t prevent defences being overwhelmed during a large scale flooding event like that seen in February, it will improve the resilience of the defences in these locations ahead of the delivery of the wider flood scheme for the town.

Paul Stockhill, area flood risk manager at the Environment Agency said:

This is an important step so we can gain detailed evidence to support the design of flood defences to better protect Tadcaster from flooding.

The town has experienced devastating floods as recently as February this year, and we are working as fast as we can to develop a scheme which offers the best possible level of flood protection for people and is able to withstand the increasingly extreme weather we are experiencing as a result of climate change.

Our next step will be to use the information gathered to form some detailed designs which we’ll share with the community.

Nigel Adams MP for Selby and Ainsty said:

The flooding earlier this year showed how vital it is that the flood defences in Tadcaster are improved. This was discussed in a meeting earlier this year with the Flood Minister, Rebecca Pow and I am pleased that work has now started on-site. It is especially pleasing that one of the early tasks will be to address the four locations where the flood water first came over the top of the defences earlier this year. The ground investigations will then provide the information required to design the new £11m flood alleviation scheme for the town.

Cllr Kirsty Poskitt at North Yorkshire County Council said:

It’s really encouraging to see that the Environment Agency has begun the process of ground investigations on the banks of the river in Tadcaster. It can’t be underestimated how important it is for the town to see that things are finally starting to move forward. I am looking forward to continued progress.

The Environment Agency’s Tadcaster Flood Alleviation Scheme project team is based in Tadcaster every Tuesday morning from 9:30am until midday at The Ark at Tadcaster Town Council. Please stop in to speak to the team, or they can also be contacted with any questions at TadcasterFAS@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Residents are urged to sign up for free flood warnings to get vital time to save themselves and their possessions from the devastating effects of flooding by visiting www.gov.uk/flood or contacting Floodline on 0345 988 1188.

They can also check their flood risk online at https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk.

The charity was registered in 2016 and operates as a grant-making body.

The Commission has statutory powers to issue an Official Warning when it considers there has been a breach of trust or duty, or other misconduct and mismanagement in a charity. In this case, the charity’s annual returns for the reporting years ending December 2018, 2019 and 2020 remain overdue. Despite repeated engagement by the regulator, the trustees demonstrated a clear unwillingness to cooperate and comply with the filing regulations.

A failure to submit accounts results in a charity showing as being in default on the register of charities. The Commission is clear that it will take strong action against charities that continue to fail to file. This includes issuing Official Warnings and where appropriate escalation to statutory inquiry.

Tracy Howarth, Assistant Director of Casework, said:

The trustees of the Macbeth Memorial Trust have shown a blatant disregard for their legal duties and responsibilities. It is vital that charities are transparent about their activities and spending. Submitting annual reports to us is a crucial tool for holding charities to account.

Charities in England or Wales with incomes of more than £10,000 a year must send an annual return to the Charity Commission.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
2. There is more information about the Commission’s use of Official Warnings.
3. There is more information about annual returns.
4. The charity is listed on the register. The Official Warning is published on the register.

Quba Trust was established to provide relief for those affected by disasters and to advance the Islamic religion in the UK and overseas. It is based in Luton.

In 2021, the Commission proactively engaged with the charity and identified serious regulatory concerns regarding its finances. These concerns included that the trustees have not been able to demonstrate that payments to connected persons were managed effectively and in line with the requirements of the charity’s governing document.

As a result, the Commission has escalated its engagement with the charity to a statutory inquiry. This inquiry will examine:

1. The extent of misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity
2. The governance of the charity, including the identification and management of conflicts of interest
3. The charity’s financial controls and processes, including any unauthorised private benefit to trustees and/or connected parties and accounting for the end use of charitable funds
4. The charity’s activities, including partnerships in the UK and overseas

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional issues emerge.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.

Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.