river thames

  • Council and canal trust unite to restore historic waterway

    Council and canal trust unite to restore historic waterway

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    The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust (WBCT) and Swindon Borough Council have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) confirming their commitment to work together to progress restoration of the canal. The agreement sets out how both organisations will work together, with the trust aiming to deliver a blue/green canal corridor between Swindon and Royal Wootton…

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  • Campaigners warn ‘now or never’ for historic canal restoration

    Campaigners warn ‘now or never’ for historic canal restoration

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    CAMPAIGNERS and supporters of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust are calling for urgent public backing to ensure the proposed White Horse Reservoir includes the full navigable reinstatement of the historic Wilts & Berks Canal around the reservoir and to the River Thames. The trust is warning that a once-in-a-generation opportunity could be lost unless…

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  • Biggest boat clean-up in a decade underway on Upper Thames

    Biggest boat clean-up in a decade underway on Upper Thames

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    ‘Sunk, wrecked, abandoned – they’ve got to go,’ says Environment Agency as Thames boat crackdown continues “Sunk, wrecked, abandoned – they’ve got to go.” That is the message from the Environment Agency’s deputy director of navigation as 53 boats have already been removed in an ongoing crackdown on the non-tidal Thames. The agency is on…

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

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

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    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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  • BANNED: Plastic wet wipes

    BANNED: Plastic wet wipes

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    Rivers, lakes and beaches across England are set to become cleaner, with wildlife better protected, after the Government signed into law a ban on the sale of plastic wet wipes. The move marks a significant step forward in tackling plastic pollution, which can cause long-lasting damage to waterways and ecosystems. The new legislation specifically targets…

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  • £55K FINES for unregistered boats

    £55K FINES for unregistered boats

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    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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  • ‘More fun than going to the gym’

    ‘More fun than going to the gym’

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    By Janet Richardson A FAMILIAR sight at the Braunston Historic Boat Rally in late June, the iconic pair Nuneaton and Brighton are still at work. They are owned and operated by the Narrow Boat Trust, a volunteer-led charity whose objective is to maintain the historic boats and demonstrate how they were operated commercially together in…

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  • 300 million litres of water – transfer proposal

    300 million litres of water – transfer proposal

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    Proposals are underway to secure the nation’s water resources for the future.  Among the various regional groups, Water Resources South East (WRSE), an alliance of the six water companies that supply drinking water across London and the South East England, have now submitted draft proposals for addressing the region’s increasing vulnerability to serious water shortages. (WRSE…

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