Monday 27 January 2014

Kirsty Rogers Join's Enzygo's Team

Kirsty Rogers is Enzygo's newest recruit joining our Ecology Department with Chris Formaggia in our Monmouth office in Wales.

Kirsty is a Zoology with Conservation and Master of Zoology graduate, with a good grounding in ecology, evolution, conservation and biology. Prior to joining Ezygo, Kirsty was working as a freelance field ecologist and has contributed to a number of protected species and problematic species surveys and worked as an ecological clerk of works. She has a particular interest in small mammals and is training towards gaining a full surveyor’s bat license.

Read more about Enzygo's Employees.

Saturday 18 January 2014

Concern for Flood Risk Advice

Experts have voiced fears that cuts to the Environment Agency's budget could mean that its role as an adviser to councils on the implications of development proposals on flood risk will be less effective.

The Environment Agency, which coordinated the response in England to the recent flooding, is a statutory consultee for specified categories of development where flood risk is an issue. In 2012/13 it provided detailed flood risk advice on nearly 9,000 developments.

Environment secretary Owen Paterson told MPs last week that it would be "absurd, given the knowledge that we now have, to build houses or anything else on a flood plain". He said that the agency is "active in vetting planning applications".

But experts have raised concern that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' cuts to the agency's budget could affect its ability to provide advice to councils on the flood risk implications of proposed developments.

Read the full article on Enzygo's website.

Tackling Flood Risk need not Preclude your Development

Old caravans being cleared at Tamar View

The government has, at long last, pledged to set out strategic plans for improving flood defences, setting out a priority list of projects by autumn 2014. This will be welcome relief to the thousands of caravan and park homes sites, whose close proximity to the coast and major waterways leaves them amongst the most susceptible to flooding.

According to a survey last year by DEFRA, 28 per cent of all caravan and camping sites in England and Wales are at risk of flooding with more than two-thirds at 'significant' or 'moderate' risk. No longer content to wait for government intervention, an increasing number of parks are implementing their own flood defence measures which not only improve on-site safety but are also delivering tangible commercial benefits.

One such park operator, Ian James, was spurred into action after reading an article on flooding in march issue after having his development plans put on hold by the Environment Agency (EA). Ian is the Managing Director of Brean Beach Holiday Parks that operates four private parks in Somerset and Cornwall. His newest venture, Tamar View, was previously a caravan park that had been left derelict for over a decade. With stunning views across the Tamar Valley, Ian recognised the park had enormous potential but required substantial development.

Read the full article on Enzygo's website.