A coalition of local environmental groups have put forward their own River Wye action plan as they criticised the Government’s “vague” proposals to tackle its pollution and nature loss.
The river, which spans 130 miles from central Wales to the Severn Estuary in south-west England, was downgraded by Natural England to “unfavourable” for wildlife in 2023 after years of exposure to agricultural pollution and phosphates.
Local groups Save The Wye, Friends of the River Wye, CPRE Herefordshire and Wye Salmon Association unveiled a series of actions to restore the river to health at the Hay Festival on Thursday.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A coalition of local environmental groups have put forward their own River Wye action plan as they criticised the Government’s “vague” proposals to tackle its pollution and nature loss.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its plan last month but critics said it lacked scope and ambition and was written without much consultation with local groups or experts.
The groups also reiterated calls for the establishment of a water protection zone – a status that gives regulators the power to monitor and control potentially polluting substances brought into the catchment for industrial or commercial purposes.
Dave Throup, a former Environment Agency area manager, said the water protection zone proposal was first taken to Defra a decade ago and is “the only answer” to restoring the river.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Improving water quality on the Wye and across all our Special Areas of Conservation rivers is a priority for us and we will continue to drive this work forward through Ministerially-led summits.
“Our plan sets out clear actions which will dramatically reduce the amount of nutrients entering the river by helping farmers transition to more sustainable practices.
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