14 Jan 2019

CAOLAS ‘More than 40 charities, fishing bodies and community groups are calling for an inquiry into watchdog Marine Scotland over fears it is unable to protect Scotland’s waters from criminal activity. National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation are amongst signatories to a joint letter asking Holyrood to “take urgent measures” to protect coastal waters […]

10 Jan 2019

EA & Defra ‘2015 pollution killed dozens of fish – Defra ‘Thames Water has been fined £2million after raw sewage polluted two Oxfordshire streams, killing almost 150 fish. The sewage also flooded a nearby garden.   Judge Peter Ross, at Oxford Crown Court on 21 December, ruled the incident in 2015 as a high-end, category three […]

10 Jan 2019

Two articles 1. Highways England has published details of thousands of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in use on the road network in the Greater London area. The organisation responsible for operating, maintaining and improving England’s motorways and major has published the information in response to a Freedom of Information request about the use of SuDS […]

10 Jan 2019

He is the best Defra Minister for the last eight years. His speeches are thoughtful and not simply driven by politically correct automaton and so for those interested in the huge interactions between landuse, agriculture and water and the environment these speeches provide a useful update on thinking. Oxford Farming Conference 2019 address by the […]

10 Jan 2019

Devon’s ‘largest ever’ fatberg discovered in Sidmouth sewer An unwanted Christmas present of hardened fat, oil and wet-wipes longer than six double-decker buses, has been discovered in a Sidmouth sewer under The Esplanade. The 64-metre fatberg is the biggest ever discovered in Devon or Cornwall and is thought to be one of the largest found […]

07 Jan 2019

EU Copernicus-backed research highlights worrying decline in ocean health Dramatic changes in the extent of sea ice at the poles, huge variations in the ocean circulation in the Atlantic, a sharp increase in carbon uptake are some of the more sobering findings detailed in a comprehensive new report published as a supplement of the Journal […]