(by Karma Loveday) The National Rivers Consortium (NRC) — a partnership of environmental specialists, engineers and construction professionals dedicated to improving water quality through nature-based solutions — has launched a pioneering initiative to unlock thousands of delayed housing developments while restoring the health of the nation’s waterways. Under a first-of-its-kind scheme, developers active in areas designated for nutrient neutrality can purchase verified phos

(by Karma Loveday) Yorkshire Water was fined £733,333 plus costs at Derby Crown Court for three separate sewage spills in 12 months across 2018-19, at Pools Brook Country Park in Staveley, in a case brought by the Environment Agency.  Law firm Leigh Day has expanded the group claim it is leading against South West Water and its parent Pennon Group over allegations that these companies are responsible for sewage pollution affecting coastal communities. The claim was initia

(by Karma Loveday) UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) is seeking new independent non-executive directors to join its board. The organisation is inviting applications from within the water industry and from senior leaders in other sectors. The key areas of expertise sought include:   Digital and technology:  experience leading large-scale digital transformation, data and analytics, or responsible artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in complex, regulated environments such as

(by Karma Loveday) The Senedd has passed The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill, establishing a new framework for environmental protection in Wales. The new legislation will create the Office of Environmental Governance Wales, an independent body responsible for holding public authorities to account on environmental law.  This includes scrutinising the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and local authorities. The legislation also

(by Verity Mitchell) CKI, Power Asset Holdings (PAH) and CK Asset (CKA) have announced that they are selling their jointly-owned regulated UK electricity distribution business, UKPN, to Engie for £10.5bn — a 1.5x premium to UKPN's March 2026 regulated asset value (RAV). CKI will record a 14.5bn Hong Kong Dollar (£1.37bn) profit on disposal. This was a deal, according to CKI, that was “too good to resist”. The sale, combined with its UK rail sale, would result in CKI holding

(by Karma Loveday) River Action has launched a judicial review challenging the green light Natural Resources Wales (NRW) gave in November for three intensive poultry units in Powys to expand, in light of deterioration in the quality of the Wye and Severn catchments. The campaign group argued NRW has taken an “unlawfully narrow view of its powers” in considering that the environmental impacts of manure once it leaves the farm boundary fall outside of permitting rules.  Ofwa

(by Karma Loveday) To provide a centralised view of drought status, and to help stakeholders in the non-household retail market respond effectively to drought events, MOSL has published a new Drought Playbook . The playbook covers: Clear details on the information MOSL can supply during a drought, with confidence levels for each dataset. This includes via publicly available information such as its maps and dashboards, and information that may be able to be provided on reques

(by Karma Loveday) Scotland’s licensed providers (LPs) have told the market operator, the Central Market Agency (CMA), of a series of structural challenges in the Scottish business retail market that are leaving them short of cash. Among the key issues were:  Wholesale pre-payment requirements – many LPs described the requirement for two- and three- months pre-payment of wholesale charges as a barrier to entry to the Scottish market and an impediment to customer acquisition a

(by Karma Loveday) Jersey Water has emphasised that, while welcome, achieving the proposed new PFAS standard for the island will be a “multi-year process”. At the beginning of the month, the Government of Jersey lodged the Draft Water Law (Jersey) Amendment Regulations, which introduce statutory standards for PFAS in the water supplied to the public for the first time. The aim is a maximum of 4ng/l for the sum of four key compounds within five years. In response, Jersey Water

(by Verity Mitchell) The first few months of the year are the time for strategic staff reviews in financial services. At Omers Infrastructure, Alastair Hall — senior managing director, Europe — has resigned. Digital infrastructure lead Chris Hogg has also departed. Hogg was a lead executive overseeing Deutsche Glasfaser, a German internet infrastructure company which Omers, owning 49% along with other investors, has had to refinance. Hall’s legacy, as head of Omers' Europea