The River Stour, which runs along much of the Suffolk/Essex border, will be utilised this weekend by up to 300 canoes and kayaks as dedicated paddlers navigate some 22 miles, through up to 18 portages from Sudbury, through Constable Country all the way to the coast at Cattawade.

The annual Sudbury to the Sea event, organised by the River Stour Trust, takes place this weekend (September 9 and 10) and thanks to the efforts of the Environment Agency those taking part will be enjoying a much clearer journey.

Dozens of fallen trees and other blockages have been cleared from the waterway, while several landing points have been repaired or refurbished in time for the event.

Environment Agency officers will be on hand alongside event marshals and River Stour Trust volunteers throughout the weekend to offer advice and answer questions from the public at key sites on the route as well as assisting participants as they negotiate some of the portages.

Among the locations that have undergone work is the portage at Lamarsh Regulator weir, which has been refurbished by the Environment Agency Waterways Operations team.

Paul Separovic, Waterways Operations team leader for the River Stour Navigation, said:

The Environment Agency has worked really hard and is responsible for maintaining the River Stour Navigation. We work closely with our partners on the river via the River Stour Users Group and the River Stour Trust to enable as many people as possible to fully enjoy what this beautiful river has to offer.

The River Stour is navigable from Brundon Mill just upstream of Sudbury all the way through to the tidal waters of the Stour Estuary at Cattawade and Manningtree for unpowered craft and a short section of a few miles is also open to powered craft.

Sudbury to the Sea is an annual event that attracts a surge of visitors to the river and is the River Stour Trust’s prime event on their calendar. It provides an ideal opportunity to showcase to a wider audience all that the River Stour has to offer. Over recent years we have invested on improving navigation infrastructure on the river and on maintaining and keeping the navigation clear.

Catherine Burrows at the River Stour Trust said:

We work in partnership with the Environment Agency and we would like to thank them for efforts made to maintain and keep the River Stour Navigation in working order.

We believe the upcoming Sudbury to the Sea event will be a great success and it gives people a chance to see what the River Stour Trust is doing to promote the river as a navigation and what our aspirations are for the future. Should anyone further wish to participate in this year’s event or future events or find out more about the River Stour Trust, please contact us.

The company already held a permit to drill the exploratory borehole and manage wastes arising from that process. This variation allows them to drill a new borehole, drill a side track from the original borehole and carry out flow testing to understand the long term economic viability of the oil and gas reserves. No hydraulic fracturing will take place as part of this activity.

The company has also been issued with an environmental permit to allow them to store oil on site following production.

The company will need to adhere strictly to the conditions set out in these permits, which will ensure the local community and environment are protected.

The Environment Agency considered the opinions raised by local people during the 4 week consultation with communities, interested groups and other professional organisations before reaching this decision.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

We would like to thank all those people who responded to the consultation. Since the consultation period closed, Horse Hill Developments Limited has provided additional information to clarify some of the aspects of their application for flow testing.

After considering all of the information available and completing our assessment we are confident that the environment and people will be protected. Environment Agency officers will now ensure compliance with these operating conditions during the next phase of works.

For all media enquiries please contact 0800 141 2743 or email Southeastpressoffice1@environment-agency.gov.uk.

The drop-in session will be held on Monday 18 September 2017, 2pm to 6:30pm at:

The Environment Agency is a partner in a major project – Unlocking the Severn – which aims to significantly increase populations of fish on the rivers Severn and Teme by removing barriers and enabling fish to migrate upstream to their historic breeding grounds. Through work at a number of key sites on both rivers, including Powick weir, the project will reopen 250km of river habitat for all fish species and secure the UK breeding population of the rare twaite shad.

As owners of Powick weir, the Environment Agency investigated options which would maintain and improve fish stocks in the River Teme. When assessing options to improve fish passage, each weir is considered carefully from environmental, navigational, operational and flood risk perspectives. The Environment Agency has fully considered the options available for fish passage and is confident that partial weir removal is the best solution for this location as it will achieve the best long term environmental benefit for the River Teme.

David Clarke, Project Executive from the Environment Agency said:

Weirs are physical barriers to fish migration and great progress has been made in enabling fish to access the upper reaches of rivers again in recent years.

Over the last year we have carried out detailed assessments, habitat and aerial surveys, and modelling work to plan the best solution for the Powick weir site – for improved fish passage and to assist the natural recovery of the river. The upcoming drop-in event is an opportunity to provide an update to interested parties on our plans, ahead of work starting in June 2018.

There will be information displays and representatives from the Environment Agency available at the session to answer questions and to discuss the scheme in greater detail.

The Environment Agency is holding a public drop in session on Friday 15 September, 2pm to 7pm at:

The aim of the drop in is to speak to local residents and answer any questions about the environmental permit application which has been submitted to the Environment Agency by A&C Poultry to operate a free range poultry farm in Upton Snodsbury, Worcestershire.

The environmental permit application is separate from the planning application process and focuses on the technology used, how the site is to be operated, the emissions from the operation and any direct impact the site has on human health and the environment. The Environment Agency are not able to consider the suitability of the location (other than the impacts of emissions on local receptors), visual impact, the need for the facility, where the waste comes from and any infrastructure impacts such as transport, power lines and utilities, as these are part of the planning process.

Dane Broomfield, Environment Management Team Leader, said:

It is important that we obtain and consider the views of the public before we make any decision regarding the application. We would like to invite communities close to the site to forward any comments on the application as part of our consultation process. The consultation period started on 14 August 2017 and will end on 29 September 2017.

Copies of the permit application and supporting documents are available online.

Or you can view the documents on the public register free of charge at the following location:

Any comments should be made in writing by 29 September 2017 to:

Or by emailing pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk, quoting reference EA/EPR/HP3433YU/A001 in any correspondence.

Dane explained:

The Environment Agency will consider any issues raised, and will produce a draft decision on whether we are ‘minded to’ issue to the environmental permit. We will announce our draft decision and there will be another period of public consultation at this stage.

The Environment Agency revealed it prosecuted 691 people for angling offences throughout April, May and June 2017. In total, courts imposed penalties of £177,720, with the highest being £974. Some 314 offenders received penalties of over £300, ten times the price of a year’s legal fishing.

The most common offence was fishing without a valid licence, which could see offenders landing fines of up to £2,500 and a criminal conviction. Other offences included removing coarse fish contrary to national byelaws put in place to protect fish stocks. During the restricted period the Environment Agency carried out 17,589 fishing licence checks and issued 963 offence reports.

Kevin Austin, our new Deputy Director for Fisheries at the Environment Agency said:

The Environment Agency and its partners take unlicensed angling very seriously. While only a minority of anglers seek to evade the law and do not buy a licence if only 5% of anglers didn’t buy a £30 annual licence this would represent a loss of around £1.5m to the sport and to the environment.

Anyone fishing without a licence can expect to be prosecuted, fined and face having a criminal conviction. Obtaining a fishing licence is easier than ever and costs from just £30 for the year and remember that the junior licence is now free – there is no excuse.

Anyone who suspects illegal fishing to be taking place should report the matter to the Environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.