Latest news with #flooddefences
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Country diary: Shy gull chicks get nowt
The harbour at Aberaeron has been the scene of substantial change over the last couple of years as the flood defences are upgraded to reduce the very real risk of the town being inundated again. Long stretches of quayside have been fenced off, leaving me to peer through the mesh of the barriers at the scene below. Pwll Cam, the sheltered inner harbour, would usually be bustling with small boats at this time of year. Today it is empty and almost dry, with house martins skimming the remaining pool of water while wagtails glean along the edge of the exposed mud. On the edge of the quayside, where in normal times folk dangle their legs and eat chips, large iron rings provide an anchor for mooring ropes. In this newly protected habitat behind the fence, herring gulls have built a nest inside one of the rings, where two eggs are being incubated by an adult bird. Apart from the iron ring, the nest is mostly plant debris from the harbour, a cosy-looking fringe of moss and a few rotted strands of rope scavenged from the tide line. I watch as the other parent returns and they swap duties, with the new arrival tidying the nest before settling over the eggs. Some 16 miles to the north, a second family of herring gulls is also taking advantage of our built environment. At Aberystwyth railway station, between the beer garden and the ticket office, an area of granite ballast lies fenced off. Tucked against the red brick wall of a disused platform, a nest has been established over several seasons – but when I visit today it is empty. Fearing their predation I look more closely and realise that three chicks have already hatched and left the dubious protection of the scrape to hide – with perfect camouflage – in the shelter of a rail, while an adult bird stands guard nearby. The second parent arrives with much social noise, and the chicks immediately trot over – with impressive speed – and begin to beg. Perhaps predictably, the chick that is already the largest manages to get the biggest meal. There is probably a moral in there somewhere. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Latest legal challenge against Sizewell C launched
A legal challenge against the planned Sizewell C nuclear power station has been lodged at the High Court. Campaign group Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) claimed the plant wanted to add additional coastal flood defences at the site, which were not included in the original planning said it raised the concerns with Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, but after they were "not addressed", it submitted an application for judicial review. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. Sizewell C declined to comment. In the approved plans, Sizewell C said the power station would be built on a platform 7m above the current sea level and protected by "a sea defence structure which will be more than 14m above mean sea level".TASC claimed the power station now wanted to "build two more flood barriers, standing at nine and 10 metres high, further inland to protect the power station" in the event of a "worst-case scenario" flooding. The group believed the additional defences should be consulted on and would "disrupt nearby protected areas of wildlife".The BBC approached Sizewell C for details about the alleged extra defences, but it declined to comment. TASC said it had contacted Miliband to ask him to consider revoking or changing the development consent order, which was approved in 2022, but the request was not accepted. It has now submitted an application for judicial review of this decision and argued that the Secretary of State breached his obligations and duties in rejecting its request, and the decision was "irrational". Chris Wilson from TASC said: "We must not let the Secretary of State of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero allow Sizewell C Ltd to use the unpredictability of climate change to defer for decades the assessment and public scrutiny of the impacts of these two huge overland flood barriers."A spokesperson from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "New nuclear power stations such as Sizewell C will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and net zero, while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs and supporting our energy independence beyond 2030."Development consent was granted for Sizewell C on 20 July 2022, having considered all relevant information." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
