Environment Agency

Sutton Harbour lock gates to undergo £250,000 upgrade

The lock gates at Sutton Harbour in Plymouth are being upgraded as part of a £250,000 investment by the Environment Agency in maintaining the Barbican flood defences and ensuring a reliable working system for the future.

The repairs will begin during a first phase of work from Monday 2 March until Saturday 7 March, when the harbour will only be able to be accessed during the published...

Floods destroy: be prepared!

As winter approaches, the Environment Agency is urging people across the West Country to be prepared for possible flooding.

Last winter was the wettest for nearly 250 years and around 6,000 properties flooded across the country. Among the worst hit was Somerset, where, in some areas, people were evacuated from their homes and whole communities suffered major flood damage and disruption...

Met Office and Environment Agency issue flood warnings for South West

The Environment Agency and the Met Office are warning there is a risk that the remnants of ex-tropical storm Bertha could bring strong winds, waves and heavy rainfall to the South West this weekend.

On Sunday and Monday a combination of high spring tides, strong westerly winds and waves brings a possible risk of flooding to the South West coast of England.

The heavy rain, which...

Trust rears rare Devon species

A Devon conservation charity has taken another step to help save a threatened native species.

The Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, based at Paignton Zoo, has teamed up with the Environment Agency and Buglife to rear white-clawed crayfish.

The white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) is one of the largest freshwater invertebrates in the UK but is under threat of...

Dartmoor gets £150,000 for flood repairs

Dartmoor National Park to receive a £150,000 of funding for urgent repairs following the winter storms and flooding, the government announced today.

The funding will be used to repair the numerous footpaths and bridleways damaged in the storms and drainage infrastructure will be restored.

The funding is the largest single share from a governmental pot of nearly £400,000 set...

Warning following fish deaths on Devon river

Home owners are being reminded of the dangers of pouring cleaning fluids and other toxic chemicals down drains after nearly 200 fish died following a pollution incident on the River Deer near Holsworthy.

The Environment Agency was alerted by a member of the public who reported seeing a number of dead fish in a river at Rydon just outside of Holsworthy. Casualties included brown trout...

Environment Agency director to retire as regional office dissolves

Richard Cresswell, the Regional Director for the South West Region of the Environment Agency is expected to retire next week alongside a significant re-structuring of the agency.

Mr Cresswell, who took up the post in July 2000, was recently instrumental in overseeing the Agency’s response to the winter flooding crisis which devastated much of the South West region earlier this year....

Floods: 'Town or Country' warns Environment Agency boss

The UK must make “difficult choices” between protecting towns or countryside from future flooding according to Environment Agency boss, Lord Smith.

Lord Smith argued that there was no “bottomless purse” for flood defences and that current guidance which gives priority to lives and homes “involves tricky issues of policy and priority: town or country, front rooms or farmland?”

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Further funding vital for river maintenance and flood recovery

More funding needs to be directed towards river maintenance to ensure flooding problems do not get worse, and land in rural areas recovers as quickly as possible the NFU said todahave said.

NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond said flooding problems in parts of the country over the Christmas and New Year period had reinforced the need to ensure a balance between Government investment in...

Flood warning for Plymouth’s Barbican

Residents and businesses on Plymouth’s Barbican are being warned of expected flooding early on Friday morning due to high spring tides and strong winds.

The Environment Agency has issued a severe flood warning for the Barbican, including Sutton Harbour. The highest water is due to be at 6.50am and but areas could be affected earlier.

Residents and business are being advised...

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