The natural phenomenon, which had been expected and prepared for by the Environment Agency and its partners, saw part of the river merge into adjacent Caistron Lakes near Rothbury.

Around half of the river was flowing from the main River Coquet into the lakes area, with the stored water held in place by the lake’s raised aggregate bank.

This bank has now naturally breached meaning most of the River Coquet is now flowing through the lakes area. This has not led to any increased flood risk for the area.

The River Coquet has now set a new course, depleting a 500m stretch of the original channel.

Fish rescues

Environment Agency fisheries specialists have this week been relocating fish in this cut off stretch of river to ensure their survival. Over 250 fish have been rescued and returned to the main river, including juvenile salmon, trout and lampreys. Experts are also working with Natural England to monitor the new course and any environmental impact.

Stephen Merrett, Flood Risk Operations Manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said:

We’ve been closely monitoring the River Coquet over recent years and together with partners developed an incident response plan to reduce the impact on the community and environment.

The bank holding the impounded water has now breached, and as expected, the river has taken a new course. The River Coquet is a naturally wandering river and erosion, switching channels or the formation of new channels is an entirely normal occurrence.

It’s a protected conservation area and so allowing this natural process to take place ensures it remains a good habitat for wildlife and environmental features.

A meeting in 2019 involving agencies including the Environment Agency, Northumberland Rivers Trust, Natural England, and landowner, fisheries and Northumberland County Council representatives, discussed the potential issues with the River Coquet and the likely future overtopping or breach.

Caistron Lakes were created many years ago when the River Coquet overtopped into a sand and gravel extraction site.

The Environment Agency had worked with Northumberland County Council to put in place additional flood risk measures in Rothbury – such as closing footpaths and car parks – should the bank breach during high river levels. These have now been removed.

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£92 million investment will enable green innovators to drive forward the next generation of technologies that will help the UK transition to clean, green energy and tackle climate change, the government announced today (Tuesday 9 March).

The government has launched 3 new innovation challenges across key areas of the green energy sector including energy storage technology, floating offshore wind and biomass production.

These new challenges will help develop innovative technologies that will reduce the costs of deploying them across the energy sector, support thousands of highly-skills jobs across the UK, grow the economy and deliver the Prime Minister’s ten point plan.

Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

The UK’s energy innovators have been vital to us becoming a world-leader in clean green technology, helping us to go further and faster as we tackle climate change.

This funding will allow us to develop new ways of unlocking the potential for green energy as we continue making big strides towards our goal of eradicating our contribution to climate change by 2050.

Energy storage innovation

Of the £92 million government investment, £68 million will further the development of energy storage technologies to support a future renewable energy system. These new innovations will accelerate the commercialisation of a first-of-a-kind storage that can hold energy from wind turbines and solar panels, as well as heat, over long periods of time, including months and years, until it is needed by consumers.

The supply of energy from renewable sources can be intermittent, so effective storage is important to ensuring clean energy that is reliable. Energy storage is expected to be one of the key components in a smarter, more flexible low-carbon energy system which can maximise the use of renewable generation.

Floating offshore wind

£20 million funding will power innovation that unlocks the full potential of floating offshore wind technology around the UK coastline, allowing turbines to be situated in areas where it is too deep for them to be embedded on the seafloor. These tend to be locations where wind strengths are stronger and more consistent as they are further out to sea and further support the government’s commitment to power every home in the country with wind by 2030.

Innovative technologies could include advancing vital components such as dynamic high voltage cable systems, moorings for challenging seabed conditions and foundations.

Sustainably sourced biomass

Biomass projects will benefit from £4 million government investment aimed at increasing the production of sustainably sourced biomass in the UK – supporting local economies and regional growth, as well as creating jobs in rural areas.

Biomass is organic matter that can be used for fuel in green energy production or to substitute for fossil fuel derived products elsewhere in the economy. It is a key component for the UK to achieve its decarbonisation commitments, with the Climate Change Committee stating that sustainable biomass can play a significant role in meeting long-term climate targets.

New innovations will help scale up sustainably sourced biomass feedstocks and the production of energy crops – low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for green energy production, including forestry – as well as helping to achieve improvements in yields, cost reductions and profitability.

Notes to editors

Local authorities across England have been granted more than £5 million in government funding to deliver innovative projects to improve air quality.

The money, from the government’s Air Quality Grant, helps councils develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of dirty air on people’s health. More than double the funding awarded in 2020 has been made available for this year’s grant, meaning a raft of particularly strong applications are being supported.

The application process especially welcomed projects to tackle fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which is known to be the pollutant of greatest harm to human health. Plans to increase awareness and encourage long-term behaviour change were also successful.

These projects complement the wider UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations, which includes a £3.5 billion investment into air quality and cleaner transport. The plan is supporting the uptake of low emissions vehicles, getting more people to cycle and walk, and encouraging cleaner public transport.

Proposals which have won funding include projects and campaigns to:

• partner with GPs to train them as Air Quality champions to raise awareness of the health impacts of air pollution in their surgeries;
• promote anti-idling and organise school street closures at pick-up and drop off times;
• encourage the uptake of electric taxis;
• enhance educational programmes for schoolchildren.

The £5,129,295 awarded in this round of funding means that almost £70 million has been awarded through the Air Quality Grant since it was launched in 1997. Since 2010, notable projects to receive funding include campaigns to promote greater awareness of pollution from domestic burning; a project to promote electric charging points for canal boats; and collaborations with local businesses to develop low or zero-emissions freight.

These projects have contributed to the significant improvement in air quality seen in the UK in recent decades – since 2010, emissions of fine particulate matter have fallen by 11%, while emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 32% and are at their lowest level since records began.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

“Air pollution has improved significantly since 2010 but remains the greatest environmental risk to human health.

“This funding demonstrates our commitment to improving our air and also our openness to innovation, through pioneering initiatives such as campaigns to encourage greater use of electric bikes and education programmes teaching children about the harms of fine particulate matter.

“We know local authorities are in the best position to address the issues they face in their areas. These projects demonstrate how they can deliver innovative solutions for their communities and we will continue to work with them closely to offer ongoing support.”

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said:

“From promoting anti-idling to increasing the uptake of electric taxis, the Air Quality Grant will help to clean up our air as we look to build back greener and lower our carbon footprint.

“The funding announced today will take us one step closer to meeting our climate change obligations, improving air quality and supporting economic growth right across the country.”

The Air Quality Grant forms part of the wider UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Concentrations, which includes a £3.5 billion investment into air quality and cleaner transport.

As a result of the NO2 plan, and alongside the Air Quality Grant, the government has been working with 61 local authorities – and providing £880 million in funding – to reduce NO2 concentrations through local plans that will deliver required improvements in the shortest time possible.

There are connected plans and initiatives that promote the uptake of low emissions vehicles, getting more people to cycle and walk, and encouraging cleaner public transport.

The government has also recently taken bold action to cut pollution from household burning – the single largest source of the pollutant Particulate Matter (PM2.5), which is the most harmful air pollutant for human health – with bans on the sale of coal and wet wood for domestic burning coming into force from May this year.

The local authority schemes receiving funding in this round are:

Grants of up to £2 million each are now available to help the nation build back greener from the coronavirus pandemic, the government announced today [Tuesday 9 March].

The second round of the Green Recovery Challenge fund will award up to £40 million in grants to environmental charities and their partners across England to create and retain jobs while restoring nature and tackling climate change.

All projects must contribute to at least one of the following themes of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund:

• nature conservation and restoration;
• nature-based solutions, particularly focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation; and,
• connecting people with nature.

Almost £40 million was awarded in November in the first round to 68 projects that will help to restore damaged habitats such as moorlands, wetlands and forests – which will see over 800,000 trees planted. The projects will also support conservation work and help to improve education about the environment.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

I am delighted to launch the second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to help kick-start more projects to restore nature, tackle climate change and create thousands of new jobs as society comes together for our planet. This is more important than ever as we build back greener from the coronavirus pandemic.

In the first round, we awarded grants across a broad variety of environmental projects, ranging from planting trees, and restoring peatlands to connecting people with green spaces, forests and protected landscapes. I encourage more organisations to apply so we can continue to make a real difference.

The fund will be delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Forestry Commission and the Environment Agency.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive, National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

We are delighted to be working with Defra once again to ensure that the nature and environment sector receives this further support from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. It is vital that we build a pipeline of green projects that protect and enhance our beautiful countryside and wildlife, create jobs, and positively impact on our wellbeing.

Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said:

The launch of the second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund is another step towards improving our wonderful landscapes and habitats upon which we all depend.

We are beginning to see the tangible benefits this fund can deliver. It is opening the doors to careers in Nature recovery and helping to encourage a flourishing environment. Natural England has been working behind the scenes with Defra and the NLHF to prepare for today’s launch and our staff on the ground are already working with eNGO partners to bring forward even more inspiring projects that continue this ambition.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

The pandemic has exposed a great hunger for green spaces as both sanctuary and escape. This fund is an opportunity for environmental groups to support jobs that restore nature and prepare for climate shocks like floods and heatwaves. As the country moves out of lockdown, fostering skills in the economy that improve the environment will help the UK build back better, faster and greener.

For grants of over £250,000, applicants must submit an expression of interest by 22 March and if successful will be invited to submit a full application. The deadline for applications under £250,000 is 14 April.

The second round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund was announced as part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution in November 2020.

The Prime Minister also re-iterated the government’s commitment to re-foresting Britain by increasing planting to 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of trees every year by 2025, and create a new patchwork of woodlands. The government has recently consulted on a new England Tree Strategy to expand tree cover, support woodland management and increase public engagement with trees and woodlands.

The government’s flagship Environment Bill puts the environment at the centre of policy making to ensure that we have a cleaner, greener and more resilient country for the next generation.