Author: Pulse Assent

Somerset’s newest flood alleviation scheme will be officially opened by the chair of the Environment Agency next week.

The chance of flooding has been cut for 200 homes in Cannington thanks to a jointly funded £4.5 million scheme which will be opened by chair Emma Howard Boyd on Wednesday 27 September.

This is a result of a partnership with the Environment Agency, EDF, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset Rivers Authority, Wessex Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, Wessex Water and Cannington Parish Council.

To avoid a repeat of more than 40 homes and businesses flooded twice in November 2012, a new flood alleviation channel has been created after the old brook, built in 1984, was deemed unfit to cope with present and future flood flows. All the fish have since been moved.

Disruption to motorists on the A39 was kept to a minimum in April this year when 4 culverts were installed under the road. Inside each one is a Hydro-Brake® flow control. These cone-shaped funnels accept large volumes of water, swirl it to reduce its speed, before releasing it.

By the time reseeding ends next month, more than 57,000 hours of work will have been put into the award-winning project.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

From the recovery after the 2012 flood to the development of this scheme, it’s been great to see Cannington’s community and the Environment Agency working together in partnership.

To better protect over 200 properties in Cannington, 45,000 cubic metres of earth was moved. This uncovered some fascinating archaeological discoveries about the history of flooding in Cannington, dating back to the Roman period.

Thank you to all the partners for making this possible.

Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

I was delighted to recently visit Somerset and see first-hand the first class technology that is being used to reduce flood risk across the region, as part of our £21 million investment across Somerset over six years up until 2021.

Not only is this scheme excellent news for the local community who are now better protected against flooding, it also shows the significant results we can achieve by working with partners to make the most of all available resources.

David Jenkins, chairman of the Wessex Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, said:

This is an excellent example of what can be achieved, when so many people and organisations work together with a shared sense of purpose.

David Eccles, EDF Energy’s head of stakeholder engagement for Hinkley Point C, said:

Cannington residents have long suffered real issues from flooding so we were pleased to contribute £500,000 to support this vital flood defence scheme.

The funding is part of our wider commitment to support local communities and services through agreements, worth almost £100 million, to build Hinkley Point C.

Of that, some £865,000 has been specifically allocated for environmental schemes, including other flood defences in Bridgwater and Stolford.

Councillor Anne Fraser, Sedgemoor District Council’s Portfolio holder for Economic Growth said:

I am delighted that this work has been completed. Not only will it save residents’ homes from potential future flooding but enable road users in the area to benefit from the scheme.

Sedgemoor District Council were pleased to make a financial contribution which, along with other partners, enabled the scheme to go forward.

Councillor John Osman, Chair of Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA), said:

This Cannington scheme met all the objectives of Somerset’s 20 Year Flood Action Plan, which is overseen by the SRA, so we were delighted to give the final £300,000 that meant this Environment Agency scheme could go ahead. It’s good for people, property, business, road users and the environment.

Archaeological findings during construction revealed that Cannington’s history with water problems extended further than first thought. Four skeletons were unearthed and the works revealed intensive activity dating back to the Roman period (AD43-AD410), including part of a square enclosure and human burials.

The first phase of Roman features was sealed by alluvial layers, which strongly suggests that the area was flooded in the Roman period. At some point after this flooding episode, the Romans returned to the site, and there was a second phase of Roman activity cut into the top of the alluvial layers.

Editor’s notes

The Cannington flood alleviation scheme won a Green Apple award and was shortlisted for the 2017 BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards.

A man was caught out after GPS data was seized from the rental van he had used to illegally dump waste and he has now been sentenced at Nottingham Magistrates Court.

Kirk McRoberts, of Waterloo Promenade in Nottingham, pleaded guilty on Tuesday 19 September and was fined £900. He was also ordered to contribute £500 towards the cost of prosecution and had to pay a £45 government surcharge.

McRoberts was charged with illegally depositing waste in Long Eaton in Derbyshire and Cossall in Nottinghamshire. The judge described the illegal deposit of the waste as “a scourge” and remarked that these offences were serious.

The judge gave McRoberts full credit for his early guilty plea and noted that he had no previous convictions for breaches of environmental legislation.

Between 4 and 7 April 2016, McRoberts deposited twenty-three barrels filled with adhesive at Lock Lane in Long Eaton and at Cossall Road in Cossall. Running a firm called ‘No Need for a Skip Ltd’, McRoberts used a hired vehicle which was fitted with a GPS tracker. Data recorded by the GPS tracker clearly shows the van stopping at both locations. CCTV footage from one of the sites also showed the barrels being dumped.

The company that hired Mr McRoberts to remove the waste has been issued with a warning for not making the necessary checks as to where the waste would be going and that the company used was registered as a waste carrier.

The Environment Agency estimates that McRoberts avoided costs of around £900 by disposing of the waste illegally.

Commenting, Peter Haslock, enforcement team leader with the Environment Agency said:

The acts of illegal waste carriers like McRoberts can have seriously damaging effects on the environment. They also undermine legitimate businesses operating within the confines of the law.

We will continue to work tirelessly to bring those responsible for illegal waste dumping to justice. We’d also like to remind people to check their waste carrier is licensed by the Environment Agency. You are required by law to make sure your waste goes to a site licenced to take it, and could end up with a hefty fine if you fail to do so.

Proposals for the second phase of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme are going on show this month to communities upstream of the city centre.

A series of drop in events are being held in Kirkstall, Horsforth, Rodley and Apperley Bridge areas of Leeds, giving residents the opportunity to view options to reduce the risk of flooding to their homes and businesses.

An eight week consultation runs from today, Thursday 21 September until 16 November.

Members of the project team will be available at the following events to explain the options, answer any questions and seek views. Residents and business owners are invited to stop by within the following times to find out what is proposed:

• Monday 2 October, 3pm to 7pm, Horsforth Community Hub, Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5BL
• Thursday 12 October, 3pm to 7pm, Radio Aire, 51 Burley Road, Leeds, LS3 1LR
• Thursday 19 October, 10am to 1pm, George & Dragon pub (car park), Apperley Rd, Bradford BD10 0PU
• Thursday 19 October, 2.30pm to 5.30pm, The Church (car park), Wesley Street, Rodley, LS13 1JH
• Saturday 28 October, 9am to 1pm, Kirkstall Leisure Centre, Kirkstall Ln, Leeds LS5 3BE
• Sunday 29 October, 12pm to 3pm, Kirkstall Abbey Deli Market, Abbey Rd, Leeds LS5 3EH

With the £50 million first phase of the scheme, which has introduced state-of-the-art new flood protection for the city centre, Holbeck and downstream at Woodlesford set to be completed next month, Leeds City Council working with the Environment Agency, BMM jV Limited, Thomas Mackay and Arup, have released details of the further measures required for phase two.

The proposals for phase two represent the outcome of an extensive survey and feasibility study of the river catchment carried out by Leeds City Council and the Environment Agency following the devastating impact of Storm Eva at Christmas 2015, to determine the level of future protection needed to provide vital reassurance to residents and businesses.

They include measures further upstream including the Kirkstall corridor which was badly hit by the floods as well as Stourton, an industrial area that was badly affected on Boxing Day 2015.

Phase two will also look at areas beyond the city boundary to further reduce the possibility of the river flooding in Leeds, as well as additional measures to offer protection for the South Bank area of the city centre which is a key future economic driver for Leeds.
The range of measures proposed are a mixture of natural flood management and new infrastructure including:

• Creating new woodland areas by planting hundreds of thousands of tree saplings.
• Where possible, using sites in Leeds to retain flood waters when levels are high. Control gates would be used to fill and then release water from the stores back into river when safe to do so.
• A new 700-metre long flood defence at Stourton with new walls and surface water interventions similar to those installed at Woodlesford as part of phase one.
• Removing existing obstructions along the river to help reduce water levels, along with also lowering the riverbed in places to improve its capacity and flow.
• Improving riverbank protection measures along the river catchment in Craven and Pendle along with enhanced woodland areas and installing debris dams.
• Constructing raised defences along with landscaping, terracing, embankments and walls, but due to the range of natural measures the height of any engineered defences will not need to be as high as previously projected.

Leeds City Council executive member for regeneration, transport and planning Councillor Richard Lewis said:

The response to these plans when they were released last week was very positive, especially the use of new trees and natural flood management measures along the catchment to help provide essential protection for communities in Leeds.

It is now vitally important we hear the views of residents and businesses so I would encourage as many people as possible to take part in the consultation and attend these drop-in sessions.

Following an extensive study agreed with the government and other agencies these are the measures identified as being necessary to offer the level of protection needed which the government said it would provide, so we look forward to seeing these plans develop as soon as possible.

The impact of Storm Eva in Leeds at Christmas 2015 affected 3,355 properties in Leeds, of which 672 were commercial businesses. The direct cost to the city was an estimated £36.8 million, with the cost to the wider city region being more than £500 million.
Following the flooding in December 2015, the government committed £35 million between now and 2021 to a new scheme to further enhance flood protection in Leeds.

Field teams will be building 400 metres of temporary barrier close to Greatbridge Road, to train new and existing members of staff on its construction. For a short period of time the road itself will be closed, to allow the barrier to be built across the carriageway and to ensure that the exercise mimics as closely as possible what would happen in a real flood event.

The exercise will be run in conjunction with local partners including Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, Hampshire County Council, Test Valley Borough Council, Romsey Town Council and local businesses.

The barrier is one of the temporary options to help reduce the risk of flooding to residents and businesses in Romsey, specifically around the Budds Lane and Greatbridge Road area which was flooded in 2014.

Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Manager Gordon Wilson said:

It’s unlikely that we’ll see a repeat of the extreme weather conditions that caused the 2014 flooding in Hampshire, but the exercise will make sure that we’re ready, should the worst happen this winter. In partnership with Hampshire County Council and Test Valley Borough Council, we are developing a flood alleviation scheme which will help protect more than 100 homes against flooding. We are looking to start construction works in early summer next year (2018), although this is dependent upon us securing sufficient local financial contributions, to top up the funding allocated by the Government.

Tom Simms, Head of Resilience for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

We work extremely hard with our partners all year round to ensure our communities are well prepared to deal with emergencies such as the floods experienced in Romsey and other parts of the county in 2014. This work ranges from producing localised actions plans for communities to exercises like this, which all helps to provide the necessary resilience for any unexpected or sudden events.

Deputy Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Councillor Nick Adams-King said:

We have built strong relationships with our partners through the Test Valley Flood Resilience Forum which helps all of the agencies to work together for the benefit of our residents, and this exercise will put this into practice. One of our ambitions in the Romsey Future Document is to develop the town’s resilience to managing the extremes of weather and this includes addressing potential environmental risks such as flooding.

Councillor Rob Humby, Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Hampshire County Council, said:

We are committed to helping reduce the risk of flooding across Hampshire and I’m pleased to be working collaboratively with our partners to help the residents and businesses of Romsey. We are making good progress with plans for a package of measures to mitigate the impact of flooding in Romsey and I hope local people will be able to come along to our public exhibition in Crosfield Hall between 11 and 14 October to find out more.

The barrier construction is part of a 3 day exercise that will fully test all physical aspects of a localised flood event. The build will begin at 9am and continue until midnight. Greatbridge Road will be closed from around 7pm until midnight.

For all media enquiries please contact 0800 141 2743 or email southeastpressoffice1@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, will be visiting Derbyshire on Friday 22 September to present at a conference as part of the three-day BogFest 2017 event in Edale.

BogFest 2017, organised by the Moors for the Future Partnership and the International Union for Conservation of Nature UK Peatland Programme, forms a conference programme for invited delegates alongside a range of activities and sessions for the public to celebrate the iconic moorland of the Peak District and South Pennines.

Emma Howard Boyd will be presenting at the conference along with the Environment Agency’s East Midlands Area Manager, Louise Cresswell, and other Environment Agency officers. Emma will be presenting on the benefits and progress made in using natural flood risk management and also chair other sessions at the conference.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

I am looking forward to visiting Derbyshire and attending the BogFest 2017 conference. The Environment Agency has been working with the Moors for the Future Partnership as a significant partner for over 10 years, and we have supported a range of research and delivery projects.

Whilst our involvement initially focussed on the biodiversity- and carbon-related benefits of the peatland restoration, it has increasingly focussed on the water quality and natural flood risk management benefits.

Through our ongoing involvement in the partnership, we are able to influence as to where resources are devoted in the moorland landscape. We benefit from the influence offered by working within the partnership to achieve this, and from the work of the programme team in securing significant resources from funding bids.

The partnership’s strength lies in its relevance to people and wildlife across the Dark Peak and South Pennines. The region is one of the most visited areas of moorland in the world offering a range of ecosystem services to a vast local population.

The partnership also provides a great networking opportunity between landowners and policy-making bodies and allows us to influence the various needs of research to supply evidence which supports the management of the moorland.

Chris Dean, Moors for the Future Partnership’s Head of Programme Delivery, said:

We are delighted to welcome Emma Howard Boyd to BogFest – our first festival-style conference, celebrating the iconic uplands and brilliant blanket bogs across the UK.

The conference takes place in Edale, at the foot of the South Pennines, where blanket bog is slowly recovering from devastation caused by pollution dating back to the industrial revolution and damage from wildfires.

With the support of the Environment Agency, together we have restored much of the most severely damaged blanket bog, facilitated the regeneration of upland clough woodlands, and inspired the public to get involved in the UK’s first upland citizen science initiative.

Thanks to the funding from the Environment Agency and our other partners and funders, our work has far-reaching benefits including natural flood risk management, water quality, biodiversity, carbon storage, and health and well-being.

Background

The Moors for the Future Partnership delivers its work through the Peak District National Park Authority as the lead and accountable body. It is supported through its partners including the Environment Agency, Natural England, National Trust, RSPB, Severn Trent Water, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Pennine Prospects and representatives of the moorland owner and farming community.

BogFest is financed by Moors for the Future Partnership’s MoorLIFE2020 project, a 5-year programme that aims to protect remaining active blanket bog in the South Pennines Special Area of Conservation. The project is delivered by the Peak District National Park Authority as the lead and accountable body. On-the-ground delivery of the project is being undertaken largely by the Moors for the Future Partnership staff team with works also undertaken by the National Trust High Peak and Marsden Moor Estate, the RSPB Dove Stone team and Pennine Prospects (the Associated Beneficiaries).

The Moors for the Future Partnership has been working since 2003 to protect the most degraded landscape in Europe. Using innovative conservation techniques it has transformed over 32sq km of black degraded peat in the Peak District National Park and South Pennines. A monitoring programme provides evidence of the effectiveness of these techniques and is backed up by innovative communications that inspire people to care for these special places.

A new scheme that will improve flood protection, boost wildlife habitats and create 160 hectares of new saltmarsh, was opened today (Thursday 21st September).

The new reserve not only creates new saltmarsh habitat but strengthens sea defences. The £6 million scheme at Hesketh, in Lancashire, is a partnership project between the RSPB, Natural England and the Environment Agency.

The RSPB’s Hesketh Out Marsh Reserve and Natural England’s Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve (NNR) are a real world demonstration of the newly-launched joint strategy for NNRs. The Environment Agency has breached the banks at Hesketh Out Marsh East. This important work has been made possible by:

• almost £2 million funding from Landfill Communities Fund monies from FCC Environment through WREN
• £3.7 million government funding to reduce flood risk

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Hesketh is an inspiring project, creating fantastic new habitats for wildlife and providing increased flood protection for hundreds of people living around the Ribble Estuary.

This £6 million scheme shows how embracing new ideas and working with partners can create tremendous benefits for the environment.

Natural England’s Chairman, Andrew Sells, said:

England’s National Nature Reserves are the most special places for nature, which also help improve the wellbeing of people making more than 17 million visits every year. Uniting these two reserves on the Ribble will create wonderful new habitat, reduce the risk of flooding and enhance the area’s appeal to wildlife.

It is also an extremely symbolic moment, demonstrating how conservation will work in the future. Bringing together a number of important organisations and the local community, with the aim of providing a far greater home for nature, is at the heart of the new Joint NNR strategy. It will enable us all to deliver more public benefits, such as improved health and wellbeing, and allow wildlife to spill over and enrich the surrounding countryside.

On completion, the full RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh Reserve will include 340 hectares of saltmarsh, making it the largest site of its kind in the north of England. Natural England will designate the reserve as part of the existing Ribble Estuary NNR later in 2017. The RSPB and Natural England will then jointly manage both sites as effectively one large reserve. Ribble Estuary NNR is already England’s third largest National Nature Reserve.

Robin Horner, RSPB Area Manager said:

We’re delighted to be celebrating this partnership work and all that has been achieved through this project. These improved coastal defences, fronted by saltmarsh, deliver much needed local climate change adaptation and provide invaluable new wildlife habitat close to Britain’s most important single river estuary for birds.

Work at Hesketh Outmarsh East has involved strengthening and raising the height of 2km of flood banks. This has reduced the flood risk to more than 140 properties and 300 hectares of prime farmland nearby. This is known as ‘managed realignment’, and is one of the largest schemes of its kind in the UK.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

Hesketh is a win, win scenario – a fantastic scheme which not only works with nature to reduce flood risk but also brings benefits to the wider environment and local communities. Through partnership working we can achieve more and Hesketh proves that.

The Environment Agency is reminding anglers of the importance of having a rod licence after three men were handed hefty fines for fishing illegally in separate offences.

They were caught during targeted patrols by Environment Agency Fisheries Enforcement Officers.

• On 16 April this year, Adrian Faife, 59, of Gairloch Road, Camberwell, London, was found fishing for eels or freshwater fish at Aldin Fishing Lakes, Durham without a licence.
• On 30 April 2017, Sylwester Michneiwicz, 37, of Roker Avenue, Sunderland, was caught trout fishing at Derwent Reservoir, Consett, without a license.
• On 1 May this year, Jordan Mark Aldworth, 22, of St Johns Walk, Escomb, Bishop Auckland, was found fishing for trout at Grassholme Reservoir, Middleton In Teesdale.

Each was fined a total of £611, ordered to pay costs of £127 and a victim surcharge of £44.

The offences were all proved in absence at County Durham and Darlington Magistrates’ Court on 13 September.

The Environment Agency’s Fisheries Technical Specialist for the North East, Kevin Summerson, said:

It is wrong for anglers to think they can avoid paying for a licence. Those that do are cheating their fellow anglers.

Environment Agency Fisheries Officers are out checking licences almost every day of the year at all times of day. It’s just not worth it to fish without the appropriate licence. The most a coarse and trout licence costs is £45, which would cover an angler for one year from the date of purchase and, where conditions permit, allow the angler to fish with up to three rods.

With what it has cost these anglers in fines, costs and victim surcharge they could have fished legally for over 10 years.

All income from rod licence sales is used to fund Environment Agency work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, including improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers, tackling illegal fishing and working with partners to encourage people to give fishing a go.

Buying a rod licence is quick and easy – you can buy them online at the Post Office.

The Environment Agency urges anyone to report illegal fishing by calling 0800 80 70 60.