Research and analysis: Identifying where existing EIAs/HRAs can/should inform new assessments

Requirement R062

To categorise assessments submitted as part of a marine licence application to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and improve accessibility to these assessments, where appropriate.

Review associated licence conditions and monitoring to ensure consistency of decision making.

Requirement detail

The MMO requires knowledge of which assessments submitted in support of license applications should and could be made publically available, and how this should be done.

Currently, a significant number of assessments such as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRA), Water Framework Directive Assessments and Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) assessments are undertaken in English waters to support marine licence decision making.

The MMO also requires a review of the conditions and monitoring used for granting licence applications over time. This is to ensure mitigation measures are continuing to provide appropriate environmental protection, ensuring the MMO is making evidence based decisions and mitigation is effective, facilitating proportionate evidence requests and improving transparency and access to data. The work should also include a mechanism of iterative review such that MMO could ensure a refresh of advice where necessary.

MMO use

Marine Licensing: Provide an overview of previous license assessments that might be useful for future applications and licensing decision making and improve discoverability and accessibility to this information

Marine Conservation: Provide information for conducting habitats regulations assessments for European marine sites and impact assessments for management measures for MPAs and understand the effect of new designations and the effectiveness of their management.

External interest

Natural England, Environment Agency, Cefas, developers, statutory licensing advisors

Delivery target

2019, Q4



Press release: Warning for landowners over dumping illegal waste

Almost a third (30%) of agricultural businesses and rural land owners across the North East, Yorkshire and Humber have had illegal waste dumped on their land in the last three years, according to new research commissioned by ‘right Waste, right Place’.

The research follows a warning from the Environment Agency not to be duped into storing waste on their land after a spate of incidents across the region. Just last month, waste criminals dumped 600 bales of general waste on private land in Tow Law, County Durham.

Businesses, particularly those in rural areas, are targeted by criminals looking to dispose of waste illegally by dumping it in warehouses, mills and open spaces. These criminals can be persuasive, convincing landowners to give them access to property, which they then fill with waste and abandon, leaving the landowner with an expensive clearance bill.

According to the research, more than half of those in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber who have been affected by fly-tipping in the last three years disposed of the waste themselves. Just 16 percent called the police.

Jamie Fletcher, Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Landowners can take steps to protect themselves, such as carrying out suitable checks and due diligence before allowing anyone to use their buildings or property. And if they do fall prey I would urge them to report it.

Waste criminals can cause serious pollution and put communities at risk. The more information we have about these criminals and where the waste comes from, the more likely we can find and prosecute those responsible.

Waste stored inappropriately can create issues for neighbours through smells and pests. It can also have a detrimental effect on the environment and impact on rivers and streams. There is a high risk of waste fires due to the waste not being stored in the correct manner.

The Environment Agency is working with landowners, the fire service, local councils and the Police to ensure the waste is removed safely, minimising the risk of fire and impact on people, and bringing culprits to justice.

Anyone suspicious of any illegal activity, approached to store such waste or currently storing such waste is urged to contact the Environment Agency’s 24 hour incident hotline 0800 807060. Alternatively they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.



These statistics show a worrying increase in both poverty and inequality – Debbie Abrahams

Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the Households Below Average Income statistics, said:  

“These
statistics show a worrying increase in both poverty and inequality. Four
million children and two million older people are now living below the
breadline. Those living with a disabled person are more likely than ever to be
struggling to make ends meet.

“This
is a direct result of this Government’s seven wasted years of austerity and
punitive social security cuts.

“The Tories’ shocking failure to tackle
the increasing costs of basic essentials, stagnating wages and their ruthless
slashing of social security is leaving working families worse off up to 2020.”

“Labour would reverse cuts to in-work
support, ban the exploitative zero hours contracts being used on hundreds of
thousands of workers, and guarantee a real Living Wage.”



Tory Government is not doing enough to ensure young people are on the electoral register – Cat Smith

Cat
Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on
today’s Electoral Registration Statistics, said:

“While
the increase in electoral registration numbers following the EU referendum is
welcome, this Tory Government is still not doing enough to ensure that young
people are on the register.

“That
is why the Lords voted in favour of a Labour motion to the Higher Education and
Research Bill, requiring universities to give students the option to register
to vote when they sign up at university.

“If
the Tories are serious about making every voice matter they need to keep this
sensible addition when the Bill comes back to the Commons.”

Ends


Notes to editors:

·      
The total number of UK parliamentary electors
increased by just over 1 million (2.3%) between December 2015 and December
2016, reflecting the high levels of public engagement with the EU referendum.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration/bulletins/electoralstatisticsforuk/2016  

·       A study from the Electoral
Commission in 2014 found that young people were a particularly
under-represented group on the electoral register http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/169889/Completeness-and-accuracy-of-the-2014-electoral-registers-in-Great-Britain.pdf

·       Before the Conservatives rushed
the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration, students were
automatically enrolled by their universities. However, the Electoral
Administration Act of 2013 did not provide for a suitable student registration
to be put in place when the old system of household registration was abolished.

·       On Monday 7th
March the House of Lords voted in favour of Baroness Royall’s amendment to the
Higher Education and Research Bill. The amendment was passed, defeating the
Government, by a majority of 200 to 189. The amendment would require
universities to offer students the opportunity to register to vote at the point
of enrolment or re-registration as a student at their university, a proposal
first made by Paul Blomfield MP in the Commons.



Press release: £45 million to accelerate 4,500 homes in Cambridgeshire

A key site near Huntingdon that will provide over 4,500 new homes has been given a major boost with a £45 million loan from the Homes and Communities Agency, it has been announced today (16 March 2017).

The investment from the Home Building Fund will help developers Urban&Civic accelerate the delivery of the site by funding the provision of vital infrastructure across the 1400 acre former airfield at Alconbury Weald.

Announcing the deal at international property conference MIPIM HCA Chief Executive Nick Walkley said:

This deal is exactly the sort of thing we are here to do – providing the means to realise the full potential of development sites and provide the impetus to enable a real transformation in local housing markets.

Alconbury Weald is a major development of recognised quality and we will work closely with Urban&Civic to accelerate the new housing and community facilities that this site can delivery for a major growth region of the country.

Alongside thousands of new homes, the former airfield near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire will provide up to 300,000sq m of floorspace for new businesses within the GCGP LEP’s Enterprise Zone and a range of community facilities, including a secondary school and three new primary schools of which the first opened last year, alongside hundreds of acres of green space.

Housing and Planning Minister, Gavin Barwell said:

Speeding up house building is one of the key measures we set out in our Housing White Paper, so that we get the right homes built in the right places. The £3 billion Home Building Fund helps do just that by unlocking large housing sites like Alconbury Weald.

Having visited the development last year, it will not only provide much-needed homes, but also space for new businesses as well as schools and community facilities.

Chief Executive of Urban&Civic plc Nigel Hugill said:

The HCA and Urban&Civic are fully aligned from our experience of large sites to our ambition to accelerate the delivery of housing from them. At Alconbury Weald we have brought forward infrastructure spend as a direct consequence of the HCA’s involvement and look forward to working in partnership with Nick and his team over the lifetime of the development.

The government is right to emphasise the importance of large sites in meeting housing demand in areas of strong economic and demographic growth, as well as helping widen the supply chain for faster housing delivery.

The HCA is the government’s national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England and manages around 8,900ha of land.

Urban&Civic plc is an established property development and investment company. The delivery of strategic land is at the core of Urban&Civic’s business model where, as Master Developer, it owns or has the stewardship of over 4,000 acres across 4 sites located close to Cambridge, Huntingdon, Newark and Rugby.

  • Alconbury Weald is located at the former Alconbury Airfield and adjacent land to the North of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, approximately 15 miles south of Peterborough; the site is a 1,420 acre predominantly brownfield site
  • as a whole, the Alconbury Weald site will support the delivery of 290,000sqm of employment floor space, 5,000 homes, 700 acres of green spaces and an assortment of complementary transport, energy and community facilities
  • HCA is lending £45.07m to Urban&Civic Alconbury Ltd (wholly owned subsidiary of Urban&Civic plc) under the Home Building Fund and will accelerate the delivery of 4,507 housing units in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
  • the HCA funding will help to fund enabling works, road and utility infrastructure and s106 obligations across the wider site; HCA funded infrastructure will also benefit the current housebuilders on site, particularly Redrow and Morris with the delivery of a secondary road access points onto their respective sites
  • currently, Hopkins homes are already on site building homes and Redrow and Morris to have houses built by Summer 2017; the first primary school to support this development was opened in Sept 2016

For further information on Alconbury Weald visit their website.