Happy Christmas and a Peaceful (and prosperous) New Year

We are making a donation to Bethany's Sunshine Fund again this year - for more information and events go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bethanys-Sunshine-Fund/160247993995153.

The Big Tree Plant

This new tree planting initiative is good news:-

The Big Tree Plant is an England-wide campaign launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to encourage people and communities to plant more trees in urban and residential areas. The 5 year campaign will encourage local community groups to plant and care for trees in their neighbourhood, particularly in areas that are currently deprived of greenery. There are ways for individuals to get involved, through volunteering at local tree planting events if they exist and if not, to set up new events.
The Big Tree Plant partnership brings together civil society partners and conservation organisations, such as The Tree Council, Woodland Trust, Trees for Cities and England’s Community Forests, working with Defra and the Forestry Commission. You can find out more about The Big tree Plant at http://thebigtreeplant.direct.gov.uk/index.html

What an excellent opportunity for landscape and environmental professionals to share their expertise with their local communities and help deliver this campaign - by starting or joining a local tree planting group, help the group fill in the fund application form (10 pages of information to digest) arrange a community planting event, find locations to plant, get permission to plant, choice of species, etc etc. There seems to be a minimum grant of £500 with a maximum of £25,000 with a contribution to funding required - but voluntary professional help can count towards the contribution

No doubt the administration of the scheme is complex and daunting but any contribution towards increasing the tree stock is worth it. Also there is an emphasis on caring for the planting beyond the capital cost - which is refreshing.

Coleshill from the Roof of St Peter and St Paul Parish Church

Now let's see what Moore Environment can do for Coleshill..................

SUDS Event 18th November

Moore Environment staff attended Landscape Institute Midlands branch SUDS event – 18^th November 2010 School of Art, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design
Birmingham City University, Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BX

The presentation covered the requirements for Flood Risk Assessment according to PPS 25 as well as exploring the different forms of SuDS promoted on the market.

The theory

The speakers Luke Strickland (Gifford), Dr. Susanne Charlesworth (Coventry University) and Richard Averley (Sustainable Drainage Systems) introduced the topic of Sustainable Urban Drainage, or as described by Dr. Susanne Charlesworth ‘Sustainable Drainage’ which should not just be limited to urban areas but applied to rural situations as well. 

They explained the theory of Sustainable Drainage as a system aimed at replicating natural systems in collecting, storing and cleaning surface water runoff before releasing it slowly back into the environment. 

A top down approach

When applying SUDs to a development it was stressed that a holistic approach was needed.  SUD systems can consist of:

green or brown roof – wetlands – swales – ponds  

 

Brown Roof at West Midlands Fire and Rescue HQ - Birmingham

 

 

Wetlands at Hodnet Shropshire

The benefits

The speakers highlighted the benefits of sustainable drainage systems in preventing flooding, now a frequent occurrence in this country, highlighted by recent events in Cornwall. The Flood and Water Management Act was then discussed, currently being produced by DEFRA, which is expected to come into force in April 2011.  The Act will create clearer roles and responsibilities for local authorities in managing local flood risk (from surface water, ground water and ordinary watercourses) and a strategic overview role for all flood risk for the Environment Agency.

The Practice

 

Moore Environment has been involved with projects incorporating Sustainable Drainage as a key issue since the start of the company in 1996, and a number of examples can be seen on our projects page at http://www.moore-environment.co.uk/  

Excellent guidance and design advice can be found in Highways Agency Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 4 at http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/vol4/section2.htm

EIA and Development Workshop 18th November 2010

Environmental Impact and Assessment and Development Workshop Coleshill Manor 18^th November 2010

We held our EIA and Development workshop last Thursday in the delightful surroundings of The Gardens Coleshill manor, with sweeping views across the Warwickshire landscape to the east, and an impressive Birmingham skyline to the west.



Birmingham Skyline





Visual Impact Assessment Deeside

 Interest in the workshop was very high and the event was booked to capacity by representatives from wide ranging backgrounds, including consultants in environmental issues, surveying, planning, engineering, architecture, developers and contractors from a number of sectors – including land, renewable energy, residential, engineering.

EIA  - the basics, the essentials and the interface with design and development



Deeside - Aerial View



The workshop opened with an excellent presentation by Barry Moore Director of Moore Environment, starting with the basics of the EIA process, moving through to more detailed issues of impacts and effects and assigning significance.

 The presentation then moved on to the interface of EIA with design and development and included aspects such as screening and scoping of the EIA, consultation with stakeholders and the LPA, the essentials of programming for EIA to minimise costly delays to project delivery. Finally Barry reminded us that, at the end of EIA was a product, the design, and how sensitive design can both protect and enhance the environment.

The EIA Team

The morning session ended with an introduction to the EIA team, a network of independent companies brought together under the Moore Environment umbrella to deliver EIA. Representatives from each of the companies were introduced.

After an excellent buffet lunch the afternoon session began with a review of case studies from Moore Environments’ portfolio. Studies from a range of industry sectors were selected to demonstrate different scopes of EIA – from a Screening Opinion for a small housing development, where the LPA agreed an EIA was not required to a large infrastructure project requiring a full EIA and ES.

 

Questions and Answers

The workshop ended with the Question and Answers session with the EIA team as the panel. This produced some very detailed and in depth queries and led to some lively discussion. A full report of the Questions and Answers will be made available on this site shortly, along with the presentation, which contains some useful detail for those involved with EIA.

Further EIA Events Proposed

The response to the EIA Workshop has been such that we are considering running similar events after the New Year – if you would like to express an interest in attending please email us at:- mail@moore-environment.co.uk