Treasury warns Defra of a £4bn charge if Thames Water is nationalised.
Officials in Whitehall have found themselves at odds over what’s next for Thames Water, especially after the Treasury instructed the Environment Department to cover the financial burden of a potential temporary nationalization worth billions. This situation is particularly pressing for the UK’s largest water company, which almost ran out of funds just days ago. Thames […]
Defra scraps England deadline to register thousands of miles of rights of way | Access to green space
The deadline to register historic rights of way is to be scrapped following warnings that thousands of miles of footpaths could be lost due to the impending deadline. The last government set a deadline of 2031 for all England's rights of way to be added to official maps, after abandoning an earlier promise to scrap […]
Defra cuts pose ‘existential threat’ to England’s most beautiful areas | Rural affairs
Proposed cuts to Britain's most beautiful landscapes pose an “existential threat”, the managers of the National Landscape Association have warned. These 46 areas, including the Chilterns, Cotswolds, Wye Valley and North Pennines, were once known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but this year they were renamed 'National Landscapes'. It covers 15% of England, including […]