EA highlights the need to boost the environmental resilience of industrial clusters

The Environment Agency has championed the need to proactively provide for industrial clusters in local plans for growth, including by ensuring they have the right environmental infrastructure such as sufficient water supply.

In a new report, the Agency set out the environmental challenges and opportunities in three industrial clusters: Humber, Teesside and HyNet (North West). The underpinning thinking is that well-planned industrial clusters can accelerate delivery of the government’s growth and clean energy missions whilst protecting water, air and land.

The challenges listed included the availability of water resources, plus threats from climate-related shocks such as extreme weather and flooding. The latter is a particular concern given industrial clusters are typically located along major rivers and estuaries and could be vulnerable to rising water levels. In addition, the carbon-intensive industries sited in industrial clusters – such as oil refining, manufacturing and chemical production – can carry serious pollution risk, should infrastructure fail.

The report suggested mitigations, such as introducing strategic growth plans and using existing planning tools at a cluster scale to help reduce planning hurdles.

The Agency also said it will consider how new approaches to permitting industrial clusters could unlock economic growth, given the current regime offers limited options for new industries to be set up.