The government has been accused of quietly shelving plans to regenerate the polluted River Wye after a letter from the government showed the plans were incomplete with no date set for publication.
A letter revealed to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act said the then environment secretary, Therese Coffey, told stakeholders in August that the government’s plan to save the River Wye was “nearly finalised”. “We’re getting closer,” he said, adding that the measures would be published within three months.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) refused to disclose the scheme to the Guardian under FoI, saying it was not yet completed. The publication date has not been disclosed.
The letter also reveals that representatives of Herefordshire Council wrote to new environment secretary Steve Barclay in November asking him to investigate what happened to the promised scheme. The representatives, whose identities were redacted in the FoI release, asked him: I would appreciate it if you could investigate what happened to the development of the River Wye Special Plan and find out who is developing it and when it will be published. ” Berkeley did not respond.
Campaigners, including unpopular MPs, say plans to save the river, which is said to be in an “ecological death spiral” after going from clear and beautiful to “pea soup” There are concerns that the election will be secretly postponed until the general election. Measures to stop farmers from polluting rivers with chicken manure.
The delay was due to the inability of stakeholders, including agricultural groups and water companies, to agree on responsibilities and actions to protect the river from pollution, the letter said. A Herefordshire Council representative, whose identity is redacted in the FoI publication, warned Mr Coffey: Tackle the challenges. There is always a need to reconsider options that have already been ignored, and a lack of consensus hinders progress. ”
Charles Watson, founder of water campaign group River Action, said: “The Government’s apparent disregard for the desperate environmental plight of the River Wye is truly shocking. It comes as Defra has assured Fordshire Council that it is “nearly nearing completion” of the emergency action plan it promised to alleviate the river’s severe pollution crisis.
“Incredibly, eight months later there is still no sign of that plan, let alone any progress report on its development. I can’t help but feel that the excuse is that the Government’s promise to implement a special plan to save the River Wye has been quietly abandoned and left in the dark.”
The ecological status of the River Wye was recently downgraded by Natural England from ‘unfavorable improvement’ to ‘unfavorable deterioration’. This means that its condition is poor and worsening. The assessment found that key species such as Atlantic salmon and white-clawed crayfish are declining in the river, which stretches 255 miles from mid-Wales to England’s Severn Estuary.
Previous studies have linked its decline to intensive poultry farming in the basin. This is because poultry raised in this region produces large amounts of fertilizer containing nutrients such as phosphorus. Much of it spreads over land, potentially allowing phosphorus to enter rivers.
The council recommended that Coffey establish a task force to direct these groups to take action and stop fighting. She rejected the proposal, writing that the Environment Agency and Natural England were already carrying out the tasks of the task force. She said: “These agencies are making decisions about how best to carry out these duties, and it would be inappropriate for a task force to intervene in this process.”
A Defra spokesperson denied the claims but did not say when the plans would be published or when they would be completed. They said: “These allegations are untrue. We remain fully committed to the Wye River Action Plan.”
