Michelle
Dolphin - 6-May-2008 - On 10 and 11 May
2008, the Environment Agency will be standing
up to climate change at the Newark and Nottinghamshire
County Show in Newark in aid of World Environment
Day. Visitors can find out how they can
help Nottinghamshire be a better place by
visiting the Environment Agency stand at
the Red Gate main entrance.
Our climate is changing.
The climate affects everyone, so we all
need make small changes to reduce its impact.
‘Stand up to climate change’ is the slogan
for this years World Environment Day campaign
- a United Nations global celebration that
takes place every year on 5 June. The Environment
Agency has been promoting the campaign since
2004 and last year thousands of people in
the Midlands took part. This year, World
Environment Day will be launched in the
Midlands at the Newark and Nottinghamshire
County Show and people are encouraged to
get involved.
Visitors to the Environment
Agency stand will be able to find out how
they can do their bit to help mitigate against
climate change. There will be flood risk
management experts on hand to talk to people
about how the Environment Agency manages
East Midlands rivers and to offer advice
on how home owners can prepare for flooding.
The Environmental Crime Team will also be
there to tell people about the new exciting
technologies they are using to track and
catch environmental criminals.
Jayne Widdowson, External
Relations Officer from the Environment Agency
says, “Our job is to look after people’s
environment and make it a better place for
them and for future generations. Climate
change and the environment around us affects
everyone. At the show this Saturday and
Sunday we will be celebrating World Environment
Day and encouraging everyone to do their
bit. There will also be prizes up for grabs
for those who come to our stall and tell
us how they are going to stand up to climate
change.”
There will be lots of
other exciting attractions at the Show and
it looks set to be a great day out for all
ages.
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Environment Agency Board
discuss future development for South Hampshire
Emma Dowling - 6-May-2008
- With its 360º panoramic views of
Portsmouth Harbour, the South coast and
the Isle of Wight, the Spinnaker Tower is
the ideal location for the Environment Agency
Board to meet and discuss the challenges
of planned growth in South Hampshire.
The Board will discuss
regional issues such as managing water supplies
and flood risk on 6 May 2008, ahead of the
open board meeting on 7 May.
The South East is one
of the UK’s fastest growing regions, with
300,000 new homes planned for the next 20
years. In South Hampshire alone there are
plans to build a further 80,000 properties.
"Climate change
will put our environment under further pressure
in the coming years," Sir John Harman,
Environment Agency Chairman, said.
"With two years
of below average rainfall in 2005 and 2006,
the South East experienced one of the worst
droughts for 100 years. With future growth
in housing and population, our water resources
will come under even more pressure.
"It is imperative
that any further growth protects our resources.
Metering is crucial to managing future water
supplies and demand, and we need it sooner
rather than later.
"Also, the floods
last summer clearly showed the damage that
flooding, either from rivers or from surface
water, can cause.
"The plans for
South Hampshire present us all with a challenge
to make the right decisions about the location,
design and nature of development so that
both people and the environment are protected,
especially in the face of climate change.
It is critical that those responsible for
development recognise the environmental
pressures and work closely with us to tackle
them," Sir John Harman said.
The Environment Agency
Board meets for its open meeting on Wednesday,
May 7, 2008, from 10am to 1pm in the Normandy
Suite, Holiday Inn, Pembroke Road, Portsmouth
PO1 2TA. The agenda can be discussed with
Environment Agency Chairman Sir John Harman
and board members during lunch from 1pm
- 1.45pm. The agenda and board papers can
be found at
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Environment Agency tackles
even more rod licence cheats
Michelle Dolphin - 1-May-2008
- On Wednesday 30 April, 2008, - at Redditch
Magistrates Court, fishing without a valid
rod licence cost six cheating anglers a
total of £900.
With water bailiffs on the look out and
prosecutions like this on the increase,
this case should send a clear message to
anglers that a day’s fishing in the Midlands
without an Environment Agency rod licence
could prove very expensive indeed. The maximum
possible fine for fishing without a licence
is £2,500.
Roy McMillan, age 59
years, of Paddock Lane, Oakenshaw, was fined
£30 and ordered to pay £50 in
costs. He was convicted of a charge of fishing
without a licence. The offence was committed
at Alvechurch Fishery, Barnt Green, on 26
August 2007.
Stephen Russell, age
54 years, of Green Park Road, Northfield,
Birmingham, was fined a total of £150
and ordered to pay £75 in costs. He
was convicted of 2 charges of fishing without
a licence and failing to give his name and
address to a Water Bailiff. The offences
were committed at Alvechurch Fishery, Barnt
Green, on 26 August 2007.
Andrew McAuley, age
36 years, of Abdon Avenue, Weoley Castle,
was fined £30 and ordered to pay £75
in costs. He was convicted of a charge of
fishing without a licence. The offence was
committed at Alvechurch Fishery, Barnt Green,
on 26 August 2007.
James Dyke, age 32 years,
of Granshaw Close, Kings Norton, Birmingham,
was fined £50 and ordered to pay £75
in costs. He was convicted of a charge of
fishing without a licence. The offence was
committed at Alvechurch Fishery, Barnt Green,
on 26 August 2007.
Kim Peevor, age 41 years,
of Lowland Avenue, Streetly, Birmingham
was fined £50 and ordered to pay £75
in costs. She was convicted of a charge
of fishing without a licence. The offence
was committed at Lower Park Fishery, Redditch,
on 26 August 2007.
Andrew Stokes, age 20
years, of Austin Road, Bromsgrove, was fined
£75 and ordered to pay £75 in
costs. He was convicted of a charge of fishing
without a licence. The offence was committed
at Woodrow Pool, Redditch on 22 August 2007.
Each defendant was also
ordered to pay £15 victim surcharge.
Speaking after the cases,
Midlands Strategic Specialist, Martin Cooper,
said: “Anglers who fish without a valid
rod licence need to be aware that our Water
Bailiffs are out and about checking rod
licenses. As today’s result demonstrates,
sooner or later they are going to get caught
and we won’t hesitate to prosecute.
“Not only does a prosecution
prove costly, with fines of up to £2,500,
it also marks an angler out as someone who
cheats his fellow anglers. When you buy
a rod licence, the money is used to help
fund our work managing fisheries and improving
the sport for everyone, work such as re-stocking
rivers after pollution incidents. So if
you don’t buy a rod licence, you reduce
the pleasure of the sport for everyone else.
“The message from this
court case is loud and clear – if you haven’t
got a valid rod licence, get one today.”
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Bristol waste company
fined for environmental offences
Paul Gainey - 2-May-2008
- The operator of a central Bristol waste
transfer station was today ordered to pay
£3,200 in fines and costs for failing
to comply with conditions of its waste management
licence. This resulted in the release of
dust from the site which affected neighbouring
businesses and property. The case was brought
by the Environment Agency.
A court heard that in
June 2007, McCarthy Waste Management Limited
failed to manage waste in accordance with
its licence and prevent dust from leaving
its waste transfer station at Sussex Street,
Bristol.
The licence required
the company to ensure that all skip waste
tipped and stored at the site was kept within
a transfer shed to prevent dust leaving
the site boundary and causing a nuisance
to people living in the area.
On 14 June 2007, dust
from the site was found to have covered
a number of cars parked in nearby William
Street and also affected employees working
in nearby premises. This was as a result
of McCarthy Waste Management not implementing
and maintaining adequate dust control measures
at the site.
‘It is important that
operators of waste transfer stations comply
with the conditions of their licence and
operate to the highest environmental standards
to safeguard the environment and minimise
any risk of pollution. Waste companies have
a duty of care to their neighbours not to
adversely impact on their business, employees
or property, and regrettably, McCarthy’s
failed to do this despite earlier warnings,’
said Chris Nutley for the Environment Agency.
Appearing before
Bristol magistrates today, McCarthy Waste
Management Limited, of Sussex Street, St
Phillips, Bristol , was fined £2,000
and ordered to pay £1,200 costs after
pleading guilty to four offences of breaching
conditions of their waste management licence
contrary to the Environmental Protection
Act 11000.
