Environment Agency

Repeat boat registration offenders return to court after failing to pay Thames fees

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February 5, 2026

Seven repeat boat owners have appeared in court for a second time after failing to pay annual Environment Agency registration fees on the non-tidal River Thames. The cases follow patrols at Penton Hook marina and form part of ongoing enforcement action against registration evasion. Seven reoffending boat owners have faced a second appearance in court…
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CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS to UK Waterways Raised in Parliament

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December 18, 2025

Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Waterways have heard urgent expert evidence on the growing impacts of climate change on the UK’s inland waterways, including canals, rivers and low-lying navigation systems. Meeting under the secretariat of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), the APPG received evidence from the Canal & River Trust (CRT)…
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SLURRY OVERFLOW From dairy leads to major river pollution and court fine

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December 15, 2025

A firm has been prosecuted for allowing cattle slurry to overflow from a lagoon, polluting a nearby river for four kilometres. Manor Farm Dairy Ltd, of Manor Farm, Hilfield, Dorchester, appeared before Taunton Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to an offence of causing a discharge of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into a local river.…
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FARMER FINED for slurry pollution

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December 12, 2025

A FARMER has been ordered to pay £7048 for illegally discharging slurry into a river due to a leaking pipe. Timothy Juckes, 48, of Tredington, near Tewkesbury, pleaded guilty to illegally discharging slurry into the River Swilgate, on November 14 and 15, 2022. He was fined £1086 and ordered to pay costs of £5528.50 and…
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£55K FINES for unregistered boats

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January 23, 2025

A COURT crackdown on unregistered boats moored on the River Thames has seen 40 owners fined a total of £55,000. And the Environment Agency warned more patrols are planned to track down non-payers. On the River Thames alone, the agency recorded more than 10,000 boats during a census. The Environment Agency brought the latest round…
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‘IMPRESSIVE & REFRESHING’: Meeting with the Environment Agency

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October 7, 2024

Lucy Wood reports… Campaigners championing accessibility on the UK’s waterways said a meeting with the Environment Agency to discuss moorings and facilities was ‘impressive’ and ‘refreshing’. TRACEY and Tim Clarke, founders of the Accessible Waterways Association, were invited to the Denver Complex on the River Great Ouse Relief Channel, near Downham Market, Norfolk, to explore…
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Take A Friend Fishing – Twelve days of opportunity for festive angling success.

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December 8, 2023

A new experience for your winter holidays To access the Take a Friend Fishing initiative this winter between Friday 22nd December and Tuesday 2nd January (inclusive), existing fishing licence holders can register for a FREE one-day fishing licence from the Environment Agency at www.takeafriendfishing.co.uk and take someone they know fishing. Get Involved with Angling This…
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Historic Thames locks receive £9.5m investment

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August 12, 2023

THE Environment Agency’s Navigation Programme has invested £9.5 million into the non-tidal Thames over 2022/23 and delivered a variety of refurbishment projects from Rushey Lock in West Oxfordshire to Romney Lock in Windsor. These include improvements to public safety, resilience and amenity works to make visiting locks an even more pleasant experience for boaters out…
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NEW SAFETY FILMS TO BENEFIT FIRST-TIME BOATERS

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April 1, 2023

A new series of animated films designed to help boaters navigate the UK’s inland waterways safely have been launched by the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency. The five short, animated videos, available on YouTube, are designed primarily for new boaters, including hire boaters. They give straightforward guidance on staying safe when boating,…
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Is this waterpoint keeping your drinking water safe?

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November 23, 2022

From Towpath Talk reader Kevin Roberts, and a reply from the Environment Agency! NEW technology never seen before? No, it’s a new take on an Elizabethan toilet system! Between the years 1584 and 1591, Sir John Harrington, godson of Elizabeth I, invented a water closet with a raised cistern and a small downpipe through which…
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River Thames winter stoppages

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October 22, 2022

THE Environment Agency is investing £9 million as part of its annual programme of essential works along the non-tidal River Thames. It is needed to replace or keep maintained 45 locks, their associated structures and towpath bridges, in reliable condition for the continued safe enjoyment of boaters and all visitors. The following locks will be…
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Thames boater fined for illegal moorings

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Janet Richardson

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February 26, 2022

THE owner of two boats was recently fined £800 and ordered to pay costs of almost £21,000 for obstructing a busy part of the River Thames Alistair Trotman broke safety byelaws when mooring the barges he rented out as accommodation at one of the busiest sections of the river, at Molesey Lock in Surrey. At…
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Kempston Mill landing stage gets go ahead

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Mark Lancaster

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October 2, 2021

THE Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust has announced that its long-awaited plan to build a landing stage at Kempston Mill has now been given the green light to start work. Planning permission for the landing stage was granted back in January 2019 and the project is being built in partnership with Bedford Borough Council…
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Environment Agency Unveils Bumper £9.5 Million Thames Navigation Investment Programme

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Mark Lancaster

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August 27, 2021

…with Locks, Docks and Three New Fish Channels The Environment Agency has released its 2021-22 list of navigation improvements to the Thames and with a total budget of £9.5 million, it’s the largest investment programme in a decade. The improvement works stretch from Lechlade (near the river’s source) to the tidal limit at Teddington and…
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