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Increased flooding blamed on years of government delays over ‘sponge cities’ rulesIncreased sewage pollution, urban flooding and water supply interruptions are the result of a decade of failures by the Conservative ministers, according to water experts who are demanding an independent inquiry into water be set up by the next government.The repeated failure of the Tories to implement rules to create “sponge cities” has...

French energy company to invest a further £1.3bn in its British nuclear fleet up to 2026EDF Energy is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and step up investment in its British nuclear fleet.The French energy company said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four UK plants with advanced gas-cooled reactors...

Environment agency says ‘significant surface water and river flooding impacts are possible’ on FridayIn Gloucestershire, police warned of road closures due to rising water levels around Tewkesbury.An evacuation centre was set up in the nearby village Walton Cardiff while people living on Alney Island, between two branches of the River Severn, in nearby Gloucester were urged to leave their homes overnight for a nearby...

Poor state of critical assets in many parts of country leaves thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to stormsMinisters have been told they will be “punished” by voters after analysis revealed the decline of vital flood defences across England.The proportion of critical assets in disrepair has almost trebled in the West Midlands and the east of England since 2018, leaving thousands of homes...

Conservationists say government strategy to recover England’s degraded temperate rainforest is a good start but want a target to double the area by 2050Conservationists have praised the launch of a new government strategy to revive the remaining fragments of the vast temperate rainforests that were once “one of the jewels of Britain’s nature crown”.Temperate rainforest, also known as Atlantic woodland or Celtic rainforest, once...