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Happy New Year! Welcome to the Winter TVNP
newsletter. Click on the pictures and follow the links. Don't
forget to subscribe and forward on to your contacts.
Message from Our Chair Welcome to 2019 and the national 'Year of Green
Action'. These are exciting times, with the
publication of ‘A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to
Improve the Environment’ the government has set
the scene for a radical change in the sector. TVNP is
set to keep the environment high on the local
agenda too and provide an important bridge
between people, communities, and decision
makers. Watch this space for exciting times
ahead...Timothy Crawshaw
2019 is the National
YEAR OF GREEN ACTION In our area...
TVNP want to help facilitate the match between volunteer opportunity and offer
TVNP want to celebrate and high-light the green action that is already happening
TVNP plan to report on the 'green' volunteer hours in 2019 to show the commitment
and passion local people have for our environment
Do you need some volunteer support for your 'green
project'? It could be practical or office based. Let us know
and we'll see if we can match you up! [email protected]
PARTNERSHIPS FUNDING...on the way to
success We are really excited to announce our partnership has got through the first round
application of the National Lottery Community Fund (formerly Big Lottery) under their
Partnerships Programme. We have been invited to submit a grant application for
three years of support. The application has been built on the partnership review of
2017 and your feedback. We need your support to make this happen, the Lottery
have told us:
' It is really important that your proposal can show how local people have been
involved in shaping the idea, and how they will be involved in all aspects of
the project and wider organisation... ensuring that beneficiaries are involved
in decision making and shaping delivery...
In the next couple of months we'll be in touch with our partners and their members,
existing and potential to ensure we take on the Lottery's advice so we can build a
fantastic and inclusive partnership for the future. In the meantime if you have any
queries or ideas please do get in touch!
Info-graphic above summarises the initial proposal.
STOP PRESS!! We are really excited to announce this years
conference is being hosted at, and in partnership
with MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art).
Hold the date 21st June 2019
LOCAL NEWS
£Multi-million Teesside flood scheme
complete – a ‘win-win’ for local wildlife &
industry
A vital new Teesside flood scheme completed in November 2018 better protects
residents and businesses from flooding and gives a welcome boost to local wildlife.
The Environment Agency working closely with local businesses, the RSPB and
Natural England has delivered this new £16 million flood scheme which:
better protects 350 homes and 32 businesses from flooding,
creates almost 50 hectares of new wetland habitat for local wildlife,
is designed to last 50 years taking climate change into account.
The area of Port Clarence and Greatham South was highly susceptible to tidal
flooding with records of flooding in 1953, 1983, 2006 and December 2013. The most
recent flood event saw 300 people evacuated, 45 homes and six businesses flooded
with significant damage to the industrial infrastructure resulting in multi-million pound
loses through lost production and direct damage.
Only 10% of the original natural habitat of the Tees Estuary remains, by returning
some areas to intertidal conditions, the scheme has helped to safeguard the future of
the estuary for both people and wildlife. You can visit the new seal hide and bird hide
adjacent to the scheme en-route to RSPB Saltholme Nature Reserve.
Work has completed on the newly refurbished Saltholme Pools hide and it is now
open for visitors to enjoy. The project saw the re-landscaping of the Saltholme West
and Back Saltholme pools to create new islands and scrapes that will benefit wading
birds and encourage wildlife to come closer to the hide. It also included replacing the
windows in the hide to give visitors better views of the pools and the installation of a
viewing tower to give visitors a fantastic 360 degree view of the reserve and
surrounding landscape from an elevated perspective.
Aimée Lee Visitor Experience Manager, RSPB Saltholme
Marine Planning North East: Policy
Development
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) held a marine planning workshop in
Redcar on Wednesday 30th January 2019 at Tuned In!
The workshop, part of a series being held around our coasts gave an opportunity to
comment on the preferred draft policies produced as part of the north east marine
planning process. MMO would like to hear your views:
An on-line survey is available to 29th March 2019.
Can Teesside University help your project
or organisation? A Teesside University research group are looking to forge new collaborations in the
Tees Valley. The group of 11 academics focussing on ecology and the
environment have specific experience in: biodiversity, ecosystems services, and
evidence gathering for policy on: soils, freshwater systems, grazing, environmental
chemistry, botany, zoology and microbiology. The group are keen to offer:
technical advice on these subjects and for more complex issues provide
consultancy or work with partners to develop collaborative projects.
student research projects working with you to design student projects that
address a useful question for your organisation or project.
Interested? Dr Ambroise Baker [email protected] would like to hear from you on
01642 738208
Local Group is EPICH! EPICH - Eco People In Croft & Hurworth have been busy over the years with projects
including; establishing a nature reserve at the local community centre with a heritage
orchard and wild-flower meadow, (and a proposed new one at the local churchyard),
creating hedgehog highways, extensive bulb planting, creating and maintaining a
local apiary and bird hide, publishing walking maps for use in and around their
villages, plus much more.
More recent projects include subsidising 15 swift boxes that have been put up on
north/east facing walls around the area to try and combat the national trend of 47%
decline in swift numbers in the last few years (only two were spotted in the area last
year) and an ongoing project with two housing development schemes in Hurworth to
introduce environmentally attractive features into their developments by considering
local flora and fauna.
Interested in learning more or helping in any way? Please contact the secretary
Judith Redfern: [email protected] or follow on Facebook and our web page
epich.co.uk
MEMBERS COMMENT...
Rewilding - the pros and cons Graham Megson, Ecologist Hartlepool Borough Council
There has been a lot of discussion recently about rewilding in Britain, with at least
one website (rewildingbritain.org.uk/), and articles in the journal British Wildlife. While
most discussion relates to large scale, planned initiatives, rewilding is occurring
naturally and surreptitiously all round us. Research based on comparing old
postcards and early OS maps with recent aerial photographs shows that scrub and
woodland has increased dramatically across Britain. Examples from the Tees Valley
include the Eston Hills (largely tree-free during the ironstone mining period) and
Saltburn Valley Gardens and cliff slopes. When I first moved to Saltburn in 1989, all
the grassy banks were strimmed every autumn, but this management ceased due to
austerity in the public sector. Viewing these banks today, bramble scrub has
increased enormously, and tree saplings have gained a foothold. Nature is doing
what nature does, and unmanaged corners, be they agricultural or urban, are
reverting to woodland. This supports my long-held view that to increase woodland,
widespread tree planting is largely unnecessary.
If the conservation aim is to maintain diverse and often diminishing habitats (such as
species-rich grassland), then this natural succession to climax deciduous woodland
is an issue. Two examples spring to mind from Hartlepool Borough, where in 2017
and 2018 the Council tackled sapling encroachment on two calcareous grassland
road verge Local Wildlife Sites; Crimdon Road Verge Grassland and Hart Cutting
Grassland. At the former site, ash trees are shading meadow ant anthills and
calcareous plants, on the latter invasive cotoneaster had gained a foothold and was
spreading rapidly. Both sites have tree species that have self-seeded, the maturing
of just a few trees had increased the available seed source massively. As these
sites are unlikely to be regularly grazed by roe deer, without human intervention they
will become scrub-woodland within a decade.
Spectacular Snowdrops For one day only - 24th February the private
grounds to the 746-year-old Hospital of God in
Greatham village are open to view their spectacular
snowdrops. Flowers are funding flowers as the small
entry fee goes towards funding this medieval
charity's efforts in Northumbria in Bloom which last
year brought a gold medal and trophy.
greathamvillage.co.uk/event/SnowdropWalk-68
NATIONAL NEWS
The draft Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill sets out how the government
will maintain environmental standards post Brexit. It also details how (they) will build
on the vision of the 25 Year Environment Plan. This includes creating an independent
body - the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) – which will:
scrutinise environmental law and the government’s environmental
improvement plan (EIP)
investigate complaints on environmental law
take enforcement action on environmental law
The draft Bill commits the government to publishing a policy statement which will set
out how ministers should interpret and apply environmental principles. It also
commits government to have a plan for environmental improvement. The broader
Environment Bill (to follow later in 2019) will also include measures on air quality,
nature recovery, waste and resource efficiency and water management.
EDITORS NOTE: A total of 176,746 responses were received to the consultation.
The vast majority were received as part of organised NGO campaigns. Thanks to 38
Degrees, WWF, RSPB, Greenpeace and The Wildlife Trusts!
New Clean Air Strategy. Sets out the
comprehensive actions required across all parts of
government and society to improve air quality. It sets
out how the government will: protect the nation’s
health; protect the environment; secure clean growth
and innovation; reduce emissions from transport;
homes, farming and industry; monitor our progress.
It complements other UK government strategies: the
Industrial Strategy, the Clean Growth Strategy and the
25 Year Environment Plan. South Tees are proposing
their own air quality Strategy.
The government is seeking views on how it can improve the planning system in
England to protect the environment (biodiversity net gain) and build places to live
and work. The consultation closes on the 10th February 2019. The TVNP
biodiversity expert group the 'Natural Assets Working Group are putting together a
response and the LNP's across England are submitting a joint response too.
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/land-use/net-gain/
LIVE CONSULTATIONS OF INTEREST... Defra have a number of other consultations you may wish to comment on:
Consultation on the draft National Policy Statement for Water Resources
Infrastructure
Consultation on the proposal to extend the Single-use Plastic bag charge to all
retailers and to increase the minimum charge to 10p
Consultation on Protecting and Enhancing England’s Trees and Woodlands
Improving our management of water in the environment
North East Marine Plan Iteration 3 Engagement
