Head of Environment Agency - resign?

[csservices]

Its a combination of red tape (to clean your own ditches on your own land you are supposed to register an exemption to allow you to spread the spoil/dredgings back on the field) and budgets, budgets are what screws up, holds up and costs this country untold millions each year due to all the back handing and back scratching that goes on, politicians wont do anything to change any of it unless it directly affects them and thier cushy wage packet

[Peasgood]

Seems to me this situation is caused by 3 things. .........

easy-lift guy

Don't forget we have a tiny country compared to yours with much denser population. The whole environment is very much man made and man managed.

For centuries the Somerset levels have been drained and the water courses managed by dredging and general maintenance such as clearing of vegetation etc.

It worked very well but a decade or so ago they stopped the management and claimed that for environmental reasons (want more wildlife) that it was for the best.

In reality I think they saw it as an easy way to spend less money and to appease the so called "environmental lobbyists".

 

The result being the landscape is just a mess and the desired wildlife habitat ruined anyway. Cured the badger problem I guess.

The wildlife was attracted to the area as a result of management. The drains are there to carry water not support wildlife, the wildlife comes along anyway.

The brook at my place is currently overflowing across the neighbour's field, no wildlife is benefitting from it. Probably quite to the contrary and the water voles that do live there have been flooded out!

 

The two streams that run through my place are far from natural, they would both have to run uphill to take the route they do. No doubt some exceptionally hard working folk decide their route to the ex-watermill and that didn't happen within the last 200 years!

[hedgesparrow]

when i worked for the NRA and now wish i had been better at getting to work on time but was only 16 then lear the hard way. but there was a gang of 4 we kept all the brooks streams ditches and rivers cleared. we got paid our wage £5 per week but got bonus if we did a certain amount of banks in a day. so could earn £35 per week. which was a lot so you worked hard.

but the NRA was disbanded and the EA set up as soon as that happened it went to pot. as in my previous post the EA has so many fingers in so many pies that they can not do a half decent job of anything they look after.

they need to go back to having the NRA. and having those in charge who know what to do. not middle managment who all they knew is what they have read in a book not on the ground with those with years of experiance looking after rivers and flood defences.

having a lord in charge is a total joke. when he went to the levels he did not even get out of his disco but got taken around. maybe he was woried that some local may push him in the parrott. but it will not change they will pay lip service and do a bit but give it untill the end of the year and it will be back to the old ways. how can you change it unless the goverment of the day listen then it will stay the same. maybe when wanting to be reolected that those with a vote vote for someone who will stand up for the commen people not the aristrocats of parliment:thumbdown:

[easy-lift guy]

Don't forget we have a tiny country compared to yours with much denser population. The whole environment is very much man made and man managed.

For centuries the Somerset levels have been drained and the water courses managed by dredging and general maintenance such as clearing of vegetation etc.

It worked very well but a decade or so ago they stopped the management and claimed that for environmental reasons (want more wildlife) that it was for the best.

In reality I think they saw it as an easy way to spend less money and to appease the so called "environmental lobbyists".

 

The result being the landscape is just a mess and the desired wildlife habitat ruined anyway. Cured the badger problem I guess.

The wildlife was attracted to the area as a result of management. The drains are there to carry water not support wildlife, the wildlife comes along anyway.

The brook at my place is currently overflowing across the neighbour's field, no wildlife is benefitting from it. Probably quite to the contrary and the water voles that do live there have been flooded out!

 

The two streams that run through my place are far from natural, they would both have to run uphill to take the route they do. No doubt some exceptionally hard working folk decide their route to the ex-watermill and that didn't happen within the last 200 years!

 

Your point is taken, size is relative. When normal maintenance practices are altered or changed in such a way to appease the environmentalist Wackos the end results have always ended in Disaster:thumbdown:.

 

Creating habitat for the sake of increasing certain species usually throws the balance that nature has in mind out of wack most of the time.

 

I do agree with some other comments about the amount of foreign aid being squandered and our right theft of working funds that should be used for local citizens First. Charity really does begin at home first.

Not harsh, just realistic.

easy-lift guy

[mendiplogs]

All,

 

Watched a BBC report today, the arrogance of Lord Chris Smith beggars belief, clearly they are not the cause of the floods as suggested by the BBC but the reluctance of this man to accept any responsibility and apologise to local residents for the pitiful efforts of his department over the last year is appalling.

 

Its obvious to me thats whats needed is regular planned maintenance, not a pittance of a token effort of 'crisis management' over a month too late.

 

All be different if he lived in Somerset

 

</rant>

 

N

HI NFG if thats right it not before time THE CHAPS ON THE GROUND ARE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THE KIT THEY HAVE BUT THE HIGH UP CHAPS HAVE ANY I DEAL AT ALL THANKS JON

[ArthurBottlesworth]

Problem is he has a TITLE

So that makes him feel he is ENTITLED to fancy job whilst he is actually bl**dy useless

bit of a problem with our system .......

 

We've all met these useless gits with degrees in bunny hugging who are put in charge but know nothing

 

I needed report writing and approached girl who had relevant qualifications, I could have done it in a morning but wasn't allowed to do it

 

Even though fee was nearly £1000 not interested, I couldn't get my head round it till I found out she was being paid £500 A NIGHT to watch otters on the river dee ..... They were frightened a jcb would scare them off .......

 

I wouldn't be interested in working if I could get money like that....

[NFG]

HI NFG if thats right it not before time THE CHAPS ON THE GROUND ARE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THE KIT THEY HAVE BUT THE HIGH UP CHAPS HAVE ANY I DEAL AT ALL THANKS JON

 

Hi Jon,

 

I agree, those with their 'sleeves rolled up' are doing a commendable job in difficult circumstances, it would be a lot less of a problem if the EA had spent the allocated money correctly.

 

Its the seat polishers who are the wasters that spend 30m on a bird sanctuary whilst peoples houses/farms/businesses etc are waist deep in water, just what are these dorks trying to achieve? Anyone watching from another planet would be completely confused.

 

Incidentally, the French landowners are responsible for maintaining drainage ditches, theres no forms to complete & no jobsworth pen pusher that checks up, they just get on with the job, yes water levels have been very high lately & gone up and down like a yo yo, but no floods & plenty of low lying land here.

 

Im sure it would all be different if it were in Westminster.

 

N

Edited February 8, 2014 by NFG

[aspenarb]

Hi Jon,

 

Im sure it would all be different if it were in Westminster.

 

N

 

That was dealt with years ago.

 

Bob

 

Environment Agency - The Thames Barrier

[mendiplogs]

Hi Jon,

 

I agree, those with their 'sleeves rolled up' are doing a commendable job in difficult circumstances, it would be a lot less of a problem if the EA had spent the allocated money correctly.

 

Its the seat polishers who are the wasters that spend 30m on a bird sanctuary whilst peoples houses/farms/businesses etc are waist deep in water, just what are these dorks trying to achieve? Anyone watching from another planet would be completely confused.

 

Incidentally, the French landowners are responsible for maintaining drainage ditches, theres no forms to complete & no jobsworth pen pusher that checks up, they just get on with the job, yes water levels have been very high lately & gone up and down like a yo yo, but no floods & plenty of low lying land here.

 

Im sure it would all be different if it were in Westminster.

 

N

HI NFG i think EA will be no LONGER mate after this in somerset other place I WAS TALKING TO FARMER AS YOU SAID THEY NO THE LAND WHAT THEY FARM :thumbup1:THE FARMER I WAS TALKING TODAY IS A LARGER FARMER AND 99% OF HIS LAND IS UNDER WATER THAT NOT RIGHT ALL THEY TOLD THE EA YRARS AGO THIS IS WHAT GOING HAPPEN IT LIKE THE SEA DOWN THERES MILES AND MILES OF FLOOD WATER NOT GOOD AT ALL:thumbdown: THANKS JON

[difflock]

I am sure the guy from the TV Show "Numbsrs" could calculate out the impossibility of draining "x" amount of rainfall over "y" months, from a, or across a, horizontal plane.

The clue lies in the name

Somerset Levels

regards,

Marcus