Other stories from last week

Green groups have welcomed a series of proposed amendments to Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduced by the Government for consideration during the Lords Committee Stage. These seek to address concerns that the environment would be harmed in pursuit of growth, and in particular how the new Nature Restoration Fund will operate.

Wildlife and Countryside Link said the Government had listened to calls for more legal certainty for environmental improvement, better scientific evidence, a requirement to avoid harm as a priority and transparency about the timing of conservation measures.

Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection Dame Glenys Stacey said: “The Bill sets out Government's intention to strike a different balance between risk and opportunity for nature protection and for development. While it is our view that, even after the material amendments the Government proposes, the Bill would, in some respects, lower environmental protection on the face of the law, we think that, in the round, the additional safeguards proposed today make Government’s intended ‘win-win’ for nature and the economy a more likely prospect.”

The Grand Union Canal Transfer scheme partners are tendering for supplier interest. Affinity Water has issued a Preliminary Market Engagement notice, urging potential suppliers and partners to register their interest in participating in the £425m strategic scheme to bring 115m litres of water a day from the Midlands to the Southeast. Severn Trent is seeking expressions of interest from the supply chain for the £200m Minworth Strategic Resource Option – the northern section of the Grand Union Canal Transfer scheme. This involves the construction of an advanced water treatment plant on Severn Trent’s existing Minworth site and the transfer of highly treated recycled water via an underground pipeline from Minworth to an outfall into the Coventry Canal at Atherstone.

Defra has agreed to a request from Southern Water for the Thames to Southern Transfer project – a new underground drinking water transfer pipeline – to be treated as a development for which development consent is required under the Planning Act 2008. 

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority has launched a new interactive Pipeline website setting out 780 major planned public and private infrastructure projects, worth £530bn over ten years. The aim is to give industry the clarity needed to plan for the long term and create good quality jobs and supply chain capacity necessary to deliver the Government’s infrastructure ambitions and Plan for Change. This follows publication of the Ten Year Infrastructure Strategy.  

DESNZ and Defra have issued a first-of-a-kind joined-up statement on the state of nature and climate together. This covers the 2024-25 annual progress report for the Environmental Improvement Plan, along with other matters including climate change and biodiversity loss. 

Ofwat has published a discussion paper on six climate change principles that it said should provide a clear, flexible framework to guide how companies respond to climate change. It seeks feedback on the principles-based approach which it said would enable companies to adopt the most suitable and effective solutions for their circumstances while promoting consistency and high standards across the sector.