Appointments to England’s National Park Authorities, the Broads Authority and the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Conservation Board have been made by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove.

National Park Authority members have a primary responsibility to ensure that the Authority furthers the statutory purposes of the Park. Ten members have recently been appointed for four-year terms (ending June 2021) on the following National Park Authorities and Broads Authority:

• Broads Authority: Bruce Keith
• Dartmoor: Peter Harper and Mark Simpson
• Lake District: Michael Carter
• New Forest: Gavin Parker, Patrick Heneghan and David Bence
• Northumberland: Chris Mullin and Pippa Ross
• Peak District: James Berresford

Additional information regarding the members listed will be made available on the individual Authority websites found here.

Secretary of State Members on AONB Conservation Boards have a primary responsibility to ensure that the Conservation Board furthers the statutory AONB purposes as set out in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Three members have recently been appointed for three-year terms (ending June 2020) to the Cotswolds AONB Conservation Board:

• Simon King
• Daniel Szor
• Brendan McCarthy

Additional information regarding the Cotswold AONB Conservation Board members is available on the Cotswolds AONB website.

The Environment Agency consults the public on certain applications for waste operations, mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities. The arrangements are explained in its Public Participation Statement

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• how you can view the application documents
• when you need to comment by

The Environment Agency will decide:

• whether to grant or refuse the application
• what conditions to include in the permit (if granted)

The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

This decision includes the permit and decision document for:

• Operator name: Uniper UK Limited
• Installation name: Grain Power Station
• Permit number: EPR/EP3533RY/S004

The Environment Agency has received a permit application from Richland Foods who want to operate an egg-laying chicken farm at Pengwedna Poultry Farm, Nancegollan, Helston, Cornwall TR13 0AZ.

The Environment Agency will be holding a public drop-in event at Nancegollan village hall on Wednesday 18 October 2017 from 10am until 8pm. This is an opportunity to find out more about the environmental permit application and to give your views.

The environmental permit relates to the control of emissions from the facility on the environment and on people’s health. It does not relate to issues such as the choice of location of the site, traffic movements to/from site, visual impact, operating hours and light pollution. These matters are considered through Cornwall Council’s planning application process.

The environmental permit application will consider:

• management – including general management, accident management, energy efficiency, efficient use of raw materials and waste recovery
• operations – including permitted activities and operating techniques (use of poultry feed, housing design and management, slurry spreading and manure management planning)
• emissions – to water, air and land including to groundwater and fugitive emissions, transfers off site, odour, noise (including vehicles and machinery onsite) and vibration, and monitoring

The environmental permit focuses on the assessment of activities and emissions from within the site boundary.

The consultation is an opportunity for local people to give their views on this permit application (reference EPR/QP3835YS/A001). You can view the permit application and supporting documents and see a paper copy at Sir John Moore House, Victoria Square, Bodmin PL31 1EB.

Send your comments by 1 November 2017 (11:59pm), either online, or by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk, or in writing to:

General information about permitting.

Notes to editor

The planning application can be viewed using Cornwall Council’s online planning register. Cornwall Council’s Local Planning Team can be contacted by telephone on 0300 1234 151 or via email at planning@cornwall.gov.uk.

Farmers whose herds are at risk of bovine TB will be able to access expert help on protecting their animals through a new Defra-funded advisory scheme.

The service launched today at the Dairy Show in Shepton Mallett and will provide both on-farm and phone or email advice to farmers in High Risk and Edge Areas of England with trained consultants providing knowledge to help prevent the spread of bTB based on the biosecurity 5 point plan.

It is an important part of the long-term plan to eradicate the disease in all animals. Bovine TB costs taxpayers over £100 million every year and England has the highest incidence of the disease in Europe. In 2016 more than 29,000 cattle had to be slaughtered in England to control the disease, causing devastation and distress for farmers and rural communities.

The helpline will offer advice to farmers on limiting on-farm disease risk, while farm visits will offer clear, practical advice to help farmers protect their herds and, if needed, manage the impacts of a TB breakdown on their farm. Farmers wanting to register their interest in this can call 01306 779410 or email info@tbas.org.uk.

Over the next three years the service, delivered by industry specialists Origin Group, will offer 2,400 visits to farms in the South West and West Midlands from Cornwall to Derbyshire.
The TB advisory service adds to the support and information already available via the TB Hub.

Welcoming the launch of the new service, Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens said:

Bovine TB is one of the greatest animal health threats in the UK and has a devastating impact on our farmers.

As part of our comprehensive long term plan to eradicate the disease, I am delighted to announce that from today, farmers will be able to access even more help and support via the new bTB Advisory Service.

Alongside the existing TB Hub, The bTB Advisory Service will help arm our farmers with the knowledge they need to prevent this devastating disease spreading – a vital weapon in our fight to protect the UK’s herds and our farmers’ futures.

The creation of the bTB Advisory Service was announced last month alongside the relaunch of the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme.

The biosecurity 5 point plan can help farmers protect their herds and those of their neighbours:

1. Restrict contact between badgers and cattle
2. Manage cattle feed and water
3. Stop infected cattle entering the herd
4. Reduce risk from neighbouring herds
5. Minimise infection from cattle manure