January 2025

Words from the Chair

Partners within the BACP have made some notable progress over the past few years in improving parts of the Bristol Avon. But, we recognise that there is still a lot to do.

Local authorities have declared climate and ecological emergencies - highlighting the urgent need for action. BACP has its Catchment Plan and the Bristol Avon Fish Recovery Strategy. The West of England Local Nature Recovery Strategy has recently been launched along with the West of England Nature Partnership’s Priority Programmes, which include ‘Restoring our Rivers’.

All these great initiatives stress that by working together we can achieve benefits for nature, people and the economy.

I hope 2025 is a year where we can increase engagement across sectors and deliver benefits for both nature and the economy as part of a business-as-usual approach. Working together works.

With so much to do, I am delighted that the BACP Team is now back up to full strength, and I welcome Janine as our new Catchment Partnership Officer.

Richard Cresswell

Chair, BACP

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New member of the BACP team

Janine has recently joined our team as a Catchment Partnership Officer. She has a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation. Janine has worked in the Analysis and Reporting Team at the Environment Agency, the Environmental Regulation team at Yorkshire Water and as an Aquatic Ecologist for an engineering consultancy. She has also worked in the academic sector undertaking business administration and event management. With a background in aquatic survey, analysis and reporting, and a strong passion for the water environment, Janine is excited to be part of the BACP team and working in her local catchment. Janine will be working on Catchment communications, the Catchment Partnership Fund, and consultations.

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Catchment News

Save Severn Estuary’s Fish: Demand Action from Hinkley!

A petition has recently been launched by The Rivers Trust and Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) to demand that fish protection measures are fitted on the massive cooling water intakes of the new Hinkley Power Station (HPC). The Rivers Trust and Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) are not against the power station providing vital power for the UK, BUT, are demanding that the fish protection measures be installed as originally consented and that damage to the Severn Estuary ecosystem is properly addressed. The petition calls on the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to:

To safeguard the ecological health of the Severn Estuary and its river catchments.
Uphold the requirement for EDF to install the AFD as originally agreed.
Ensure there is proper mitigation and compensation, regardless of whether the AFD is installed.
Ensure that compensation measures are comprehensive and address all affected species, with a specific focus on migratory fish, removing river barriers and restoring habitats.
Press for the inclusion of the Bristol Avon in compensation plans, given its importance to migratory fish.

The Rivers Trust and BART are seeking your support.

Please find out more here: New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore

Look out for the ‘Blue-bellied’ barbel in the Bristol Avon

The Environment Agency have released 1,500 dye-marked barbel in the Bristol Avon to monitor their movement and survival. Anglers are being asked to look out for any barbel with blue dye on their undersides in the Bristol Avon between Bath and Chippenham.

Heal the Land

Heal Rewilding have created a short film called ‘Heal the Land’. The 25 minute documentary about the Heal Somerset site in the Somerset Frome, showcases the local wildlife, as well as the highs and lows from their first two years at the site.

The film will be shown in the Merlin Theatre in Frome on the 14^th March 2025 from 7pm, followed by a panel discussion.

You can book your tickets here, or watch the trailer here.

Insights from the Severn Estuary

Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) have shared an article highlighting the importance that estuaries play in sustaining fish populations; notably the Severn Estuary. The Severn Estuary is the UK’s second-largest estuary and is home to over 100 fish species; designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Bristol Avon flows into the Severn Estuary and consequently, acts as a vital route for migratory fish. Read more about how we can all work to protect these vital habitats here or for any questions, contact info@bristolavonriverstrust.org.

Photo credit: Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART)

Addressing England's Water Quality: What Can Be Done?

The Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath is holding a free event on 15^th March 2025, 6 - 7:30 pm about restoring and protecting rivers. Mark Lloyd (CEO, The Rivers Trust) and Helen Wakeham (Director of Water, Environment Agency) will discuss what needs to be done to tackle the problems and restore our waterways to health. How can we address monitoring and policy gaps, and how do we make sure that the solutions put in place are fit for the future as new threats emerge? The event will be chaired by Dame Fiona Reynolds, and there will be time for audience questions.

To find out more about the event and you can book tickets here.

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Wider News

Food-borne disease risk through water networks

A report by Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) has been published following a stakeholder workshop on food-borne disease and the use of biosurveillance via water networks. The workshop involved several presentations of pathogens within various water sources such as wastewater, coastal waters and fisheries.

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier

As part of the three Environmental Land Management schemes, DEFRA have announced the release of the new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) offer. The new scheme includes new actions to improve flood resilience and species abundance and important funding to secure enhanced environmental benefits and deliver for nature recovery, including sensitive areas such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). There will be 145 capital items available in CSHT to help farmers, foresters and land managers deliver CSHT actions.

Find out more about the new scheme here.

Flood and coastal erosion risk

The Environment Agency have published an update of the National Assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England. The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) provides a single picture of current and future flood risk from rivers, the sea and surface water for England; and the National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM) provides the most up to date national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk for England.

Properties in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea
Properties in areas at risk of flooding from surface water
Roads in risk of flooding from one or more sources of flooding
Railways in areas at risk from one or more sources of flooding

(Source: NaFRA).

This data from the NaFRA and NCERM will be publicly available on the government website by the end of January 2025.

Find out more about this new information here.

Conservation covenants

The Environment Agency (EA) has been designated as a responsible body for conservation covenants. A conservation covenant is a legal tool that can be used to create private, voluntary agreements between a designated responsible body and a landowner to deliver lasting conservation benefits.

This is a part of the EA’s 2025 plan and supports their three key goals, with the tool providing certainty and assurance that environmental outcomes will be realised, and that land will be managed in a certain way.

Read more about Conservation Covenants in this EA blog post here.

Failures to comply with environmental law

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has concluded that there have been failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat following an investigation into the regulation of network combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The OEP has sent each of the public authorities a decision notice setting out its findings and the steps that it considers should be taken to put matters right. The public authorities now have two months to respond and confirm whether they are going to take those steps. Failure to do so could result in court action.

IUCN global assessment of coral reefs

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with contributions from CEFAS, have released their latest assessment of the health of 892 warm-water coral reef species.

This research has contributed to updating the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which aims to highlight the species at greatest risk of extinction as well as provide a reliable source of information about the status of over 157,000 species. Currently over 44,000 species have been listed as threatened with extinction.