A cleaner and greener borough with the Environment Agency

Date published: 23 September 2020

Hello from everyone at the Environment Agency and welcome to our latest round-up exclusively for Rochdale Online.

While some of us are still working, learning and staying at home to deal with the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, our frontline staff have remained active on the ground keeping our communities safe. It has been a busy couple of months for Team EA with issues such as flood risk and fishing taking centre stage throughout the summer.

Read on to find out what we have been up to in Rochdale and the surrounding areas over the summer of 2020.

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Working hard to protect the public and environment

As a Category 1 emergency responder, the Environment Agency has a number of responsibilities when it comes to flood risk. This includes designing and building flood defences, which will help protect homes and businesses into the future, as well as using our resources and calling on our incident response staff to help communities during a flooding emergency.

Very often our first line of defence can be as simple as ensuring our rivers and debris screens are free of blockages and our field teams do regular checks across the catchment on a bi-weekly basis. There are seven debris screens in the Rochdale area which works out to 182 standard inspections every year.

Another important part in our flood resilience repertoire is ensuring our assets and flood embankments are in tip-top condition so they are ready to respond in the event of a flood. This summer, we have spent £16k on repairing three walls in Rochdale to ensure that 31 properties remain protected from flooding. Additionally, the team have been busy doing routine maintenance, such as grass cutting, in areas such as Buckley Brook, Butterworth Hall Brook, Piethorne Brook and the River Roch.

Further maintenance is planned for Featherstall Brook in the coming weeks with the team undertaking a “debris walk through” this September.

 

 

Business as usual?

Speaking on 30 June 2020, the Prime Minister said: “we will build, build, build: build back better, build back greener, build back faster.”

The need for speed is in part driven by economic urgency due to coronavirus but incidents are often a catalyst for change and life pre and post-lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic has gifted a glimpse of how we could adapt our lives and think differently about how we operate. This applies not just to us but the communities we serve, too.

Back in June, the Environment Agency published its new five-year plan, EA2025, which calls for a new approach to promote health, equity and environmental enhancement to reshape a better future.

EA2025 sets out three long-term goals: a nation resilient to climate change; healthy air, land and water; and green growth and a sustainable future. Some of its targets for 2020/21 include improving more than 4,000 kilometres of river, creating nearly 1,200 hectares of habitat and being on track to be carbon-neutral by 2030. And, by 2025, the Environment Agency aims to have created more climate resilient places and infrastructure by ensuring the nation is prepared for flooding, coastal change and drought.

We already know that Greater Manchester is walking the walk when it comes to innovation. EA2025 follows on from years of bold ambition across the region to tackle climate change and make local communities more resilient. This includes the pioneering Manchester Green Summit, which recently showed that by creating cleaner, greener air in Greater Manchester, 1,000 life years of the local population have already been saved.

On the subject of the Green Summit, things have been done a little differently this time around. The programme commenced virtually on Monday 21 September and will take place over four days, with the final day focusing on Green Recovery on Thursday 24 September. 

To join the conversation or to catch up on the event, visit: https://gmgreensummit2020.co.uk. 

 

 

New blueprint to protect and prepare millions more families from flooding 

On the subject of inspiring activities, last month, we also launched our new Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy, to better protect and prepare millions of homes and businesses from the risk of flooding, as part of the EA’s green recovery plan into the next decade. The strategy, which takes into account climate change, sets out how we can become more resilient to flooding and coastal erosion by continuing to build and maintain our flood defences while also increasing investment in nature-based solutions. 

It ensures ideas like reconnecting rivers with their natural floodplain or creating new areas where water can be stored and used in times of drought will become mainstream flood protection policies in the years to come, which is a win-win scenario for both us and our precious natural resources.

You can read the full strategy here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-strategy-for-england--2

 

 

We’re hooked!

Fishing is seeing a surprising post-lockdown surge with experts encouraging as many people as possible to take advantage of the activity’s mental health and wellbeing benefits this summer.

In fact, Environment Agency data has revealed that over 100,000 more people are fishing, with a boom in rod licence sales by nearly a fifth (17%) compared to the same time last year. Fishing retailers have also reported a huge demand for beginners’ fishing kits and tackle since lockdown restrictions eased on 13 May.

There are currently over 3/4million anglers with a licence in England and Wales. In light of renewed demand and the wellbeing benefits of fishing, we have set a new target to get 1 million people fishing by 2025.

Do you fancy giving fishing a go? Well now you can and even better you can do it with a friend! The Environment Agency, Angling Trust and Angling Trades Association have teamed up to give anglers the perfect opportunity to introduce someone they know to fishing right up until October. 

The Take a Friend Fishing (TAFF) campaign, which runs to October 4th is calling on all to give the sport a go and see the benefits for themselves. During the TAFF campaign, fishing licence holders will be able to register for a free one-day Environment Agency fishing licence, worth up to £12, to take someone they know fishing.

Going fishing is a wonderful way to spend quality, socially distanced time with family and friends and has proven mental health and wellbeing benefits. You may not realise that apart from being an enjoyable pastime, fishing can make you a healthier, happier person with benefits that will last much longer than the duration of your visit to the bank.

To take advantage of this offer, simply visit www.takeafriendfishing.co.uk and provide some simple contact details including your fishing licence number and the date of the fishing trip. This will notify your friend who, after checking their details are correct, will be able to go fishing with you, on the selected day using their own free one-day fishing licence.

Need a licence? Or want to know more about the rod fishing rules visit www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence.

 

 

Don’t forget to say hello

Have you spotted Team EA out and about? If you do see us in the Rochdale community, don’t forget to say hello give us a wave! We love interacting with you but please do follow government guidance on social distancing. In these unprecedented times, it is more vital than ever that we keep you and our teams safe. 

One thing we know from our experience of incidents is that to get through to the other side, we need partnership, compassion, determination and patience. In the meantime, rest assured that your local Environment Agency teams are still here for you, working hard for the mid and long term to protect the environment and support the communities we serve.

Stay in touch

You can stay up-to-date with the latest news and information from the Environment Agency on Twitter and Instagram at @EnvAgencyNW.