A project to revitalise one of Yorkshire’s longest river has been given a further boost after The National Lottery Heritage Fund announced today it had awarded a £714,000 grant to the Environment Agency to return salmon to the River Aire.
The funding completes a package of £2.3 million that will enable the Developing the Natural Aire (DNAire) project to reconnect the ecology of the river by building fish passes on the last four high weirs below Gargrave, allowing salmon to return to the river for the first time since the Industrial Revolution.
All four fish passes – at Armley, Kirkstall, Newlay and Saltaire – will be installed in summer 2020 and will allow those salmon which already get as far as Leeds to finally reach their spawning grounds upstream of Skipton.
Oliver Harmar, Yorkshire Area Director of the Environment Agency, said:
“We are delighted that The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded this money to Developing the Natural Aire. It’s an amazing project that continues our work in further regenerating Yorkshire’s beautiful rivers.
“Rivers such as the Aire, which was heavily polluted 30 years ago, are now home to a rich array of wildlife. The DNAire fish passes will enable salmon and coarse fish species to migrate upstream and provide fantastic opportunities for the River Aire to be enjoyed by everyone.”
Using the return of salmon as a catalyst, the project will be carrying out an extensive community engagement programme that will reconnect communities to the river that led to those communities existing in the first place.
Over the next three years it will deliver a series of events with community partners, including working with:
• Schools, helping to teach young people in river guardianship, so that they understand the importance of looking after our rivers and how STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects are vital
• Volunteers to clean up the banks of the river, removing litter and invasive weeds and making it a more welcoming environment
• Walkers and ramblers to create a series of short self-guided trails illustrating locally important stories
The project will also train ‘citizen scientists’, who will monitor the river and report pollution.
Geoff Roberts, Chairman of the Aire Rivers Trust, said:
“We are delighted to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
“It will help the project and be a catalyst for the renaissance of the River Aire, making it more healthy, vibrant and valued.
“The link between our rivers and the communities which depended on them has been lost and this project creates a great opportunity to re-forge that link.
“We now live in an exciting time when river wildlife is returning to our rivers and this project offers many opportunities for people to get stuck in and make a positive difference to wildlife and improve our understanding of the area’s important industrial history.”
The project also received £500,000 from Yorkshire Water as well as funding from the EA, Craven District Council, Bannister Trust and Garfield Weston Trust and others.
Nevil Muncaster, Yorkshire Water’s Director of Asset Management, said:
“Yorkshire Water is delighted to be an active partner in this project to revitalise one of Yorkshire’s great rivers.
“It will build on the great water quality improvements which our investment has brought and will remove the remaining obstacles to the return of salmon.
“The project will also enable local communities to build a new connection with their river in a way which hasn’t been possible since the industrial revolution.”
David Renwick, Director, England: North, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“National Lottery players have told us that natural heritage projects are of great importance to them and high up on the list of priorities they wish to see their money going towards.
“‘Developing the Natural Aire is a fantastic example of one such project, and we are delighted that through our funding we will be able to aid in the re-establishment of at-risk species, like the Atlantic Salmon and lampreys, to the River Aire.
“We are also delighted that the project also offers communities great opportunities to increase their connection to the river, and in turn, their health and wellbeing, through the varied and exciting programme of activities.”
Today (11 September), DIT launches the Security Exports Strategy, setting out how the Government will ensure that UK companies remain at the forefront of growing global demand for security exports and services.
This builds on the Government’s 2018 Export Strategy and sets out how the United Kingdom will harness its global network, DIT’s Trade Commissioners and cross-Government network to support the specific needs of companies serving the security and resilience sector.
This will be done by:
Britain’s security exports market is booming. Last year alone businesses collectively saw their overseas sales reach £5.2bn and this Government is committed to seeing that figure grow this year and beyond.
This Strategy I am launching today seeks to do just that. By providing support for businesses, harnessing the UK’s global network using DIT’s Trade Commissioners, and promoting the UK Export Finance offer to business, we will ensure they remain the vanguard of security exports and services.
Building on the Collaborative Agreement, signed with the UK’s Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community (RISC) in March 2019, the strategy outlines how the Department for International Trade, wider government and the sector will continue to work in partnership to bring the best of British innovation to a global audience.
Published 11 September 2019
What you’ll need to export animals, products of animal origin and animal by-products in a no-deal Brexit.
Experienced international trade and structured finance professional Diego Folino has joined as Country Head to improve awareness of the organisation in the market and support trade relations between the UK and Mexico.
UKEF is strategically placed to provide competitive and innovative finance to companies in Mexico looking to do business with the UK. The British government is committed to improving its trading relationship with Mexico, and to support this UKEF has over £4 billion available for UK companies exporting to Mexico as well as Mexican buyers of UK goods and services. It can also provide loan guarantees in Mexican Pesos – allowing buyers of goods and services from the UK the flexibility to “buy British and pay local”.
Country Head Diego Folino has taken up office at the British Embassy in Mexico City and will work closely with the Department for International Trade and other UK government departments to deliver on this trading potential.
Diego has over 25 years of experience within the International Financial Sector. He led the launch of the Bank of China’s operations in Mexico and prior to that, successfully led institutions including Bank of New York Mellon Mexico and Standard Chartered as President and Country CEO for several years. Most recently as founder and CEO of Tinto Capital, he successfully advised companies and senior executives of corporate and financial institutions on strategy, business development and investment banking activities.
Diego Folino said “I am excited about this role and about creating stronger trading links between Mexico and the UK. The UK has a global reputation for excellence across a wide a range of sectors, and I look forward to bringing the benefits of that expertise to Mexico’s rapidly growing economy.”
Commenting on the appointment, Richard Simon Lewis, Head of Origination, Client Coverage, Marketing and Communications at UK Export Finance said “UKEF is committed to expanding the global reach of the UK’s companies into Mexico and across the wider Latin American region. Diego’s appointment represents the strength of that commitment and I look forward to working together to forge strong links into this key market as UKEF builds out its overseas network.”
Established in 1919, UKEF is the UK Government’s Export Credit Agency, helping buyers around the world trade with UK suppliers by offering attractive financing options. Alongside long repayment terms, UKEF has the ability to support a wide range of financing structures and offers one of the most flexible local content requirements of any credit agency in the world. Full details of its products and services are available on its website.