Ready, steady, mayor - get set for polling
Plus action on rivers and eco heating for new homes
Good morning! I’m Sarah Hartley and this is The Northern Eco weekly update. As you’ve received this newsletter then either you subscribed, or someone forwarded it to you. If the latter, then you can click on this handy little button below.
Before we get stuck into the environmental news, I wanted give a warm welcome to the many new subscribers who’ve just joined us here. I’d love to get to know a bit more about you so please do feel free to introduce yourselves here. As well as the normal round up of news today, we’re taking a closer look at the mayoral candidates for the York and North Yorkshire region - scroll down the page for that. And, if you’re thinking of getting an Electric Vehicle (EV) but have concerns niggling away at you, we’re working on an EV special issue and have an expert coming in to answer your questions. Just drop them into the comments below or email me via sarah@thenortherneco.com and we’ll put them to our special guest very soon.
🪶 At last, some good news in the UK’s raptor cruelty capital - a record number of hen harrier nests were recorded in the Yorkshire Dales in 2023. The latest Bird of Prey evidence report detailing bird of prey populations in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape reveals there were 15 hen harrier nesting attempts across the area in 2023 reports Joe Willis at RichmondshireToday.
But still, within hours of that good news being released, North Yorkshire Police revealed that a National Harrier Task Force operation was held at an undisclosed location in the Yorkshire Dales. In a press statement NYP said: “Our Rural Task Force deployed with the National Wildlife Crime Unit on a warrant to search land and premises that are suspected to be linked to the illegal killing of Hen Harriers and the theft of satellite tags.” More at Raptor Persecution.
🏠 A County Durham housing association has handed over keys to the first gas-free new homes, reports South West Durham News. Each home at Mill Close has an air source heat pump and solar panels, enhanced construction specifications and energy efficiency measures, and electrical vehicle charging points.
💦 City leaders are considering how the River Tyne could play a critical role in delivering a low-carbon district heating network to an area seen as critical to Newcastle’s future growth.The proposals could see water taken from the Tyne and heat energy extracted from it, before the water is then returned to the river, to deliver heating and hot water to nearby buildings. More from Daniel Holland at The Northern Echo here.
🐄 The ever increasing intensification of dairy production driven largely by aggressive supermarket pricing pressures, failure to enforce environmental regulations, and inadequate government environmental incentives for dairy farmers are among the factors that have conspired to create one of the largest causes of UK river pollution, according to new data revealed by River Action.
💦 For this week only, donations to the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust (YDRT) will be matched by BigGive, enabling the group to double its river restoration volunteer power. YDRT plan to plant up to 5,000 trees; buy litter-picking equipment and life jackets to support up to 30 volunteers working directly in our rivers; increase our monthly group litter picking events and provide INNS training for up to 25 volunteers.
If you’d like to support that, visit the BigGive page and make a donation before 25 April.
💦 Volunteers needed to help bring back to life a beck that was killed off by sewage spill pollution, writes Emma Ryan at The Yorkshire Post. Plans have been in the making since for restoration of the aquafauna and species that occupy Hookstone Beck, a tributary of the River Nidd, and a project that involves several organisations is looking for volunteers to help it develop further following a landmark £500,000 pay out from Yorkshire Water, which was made last year.
The three most clicked links from last week were;
Fund Britain’s Waterways petition
Where will your X be placed next week?
If you were able to join last night’s climate and nature hustings, the faces below will be feeling familiar. These five candidates spent an hour on Zoom sharing their plans and thoughts at the hustings organised by Friends of the Earth. One candidate (Conservative) chose not to take part.
Forget the idea of a mayor as a ceremonial ribbon cutter wearing chains - when York and North Yorkshire elects the first mayor for the region, the person will hold a powerful position and control a £multi million budget which includes a £540m investment fund over 30 years.
We asked all those standing for election what they would do about river pollution and to spell out their priorities for you. All but one chose to respond. Click on the names below to find out more….
Keane Duncan, Conservative (No response)
PS. Don’t forget your photo ID on polling day as it is now required to vote.