local environment agency plan SEVERN UPLANDS CONSULTATION REPORT DECEMBER 1998 Llanfyllin Cuitsfield Welshpool Llanfair Caereinion Montgomery Llanidloes YOUR VIEWS- The consultation period is from December 1998 to This Consultation Report is about the Severn Uplands March 1999 to. Please send your comments in area. It is the Environment Agency's analysis of the writing to: environment in this area and the issues that the Agency believes need to be addressed. Dee Murray or jo Langfield, The Environment Agency The Agency wants to hear your views: Hafren House Welshpool Road • Have all the important environmental issues been SHREWSBURY identified? Shropshire SY3 8BB • What do you think should be done about them? Telephone: (01 743) 272828 • Do you have any other information or ideas that Fax: (01743) 272138 need to be considered? e-mail: [email protected] Please return your comments to us by 12 March • We would appreciate your views, which will help us 1999 finalise the Action Plan. Further copies of this Report are available at the above address. All comments received will be treated as public information unless you state otherwise in your response. Photographs: Clockwise from centre: Lake Vyrnwy; Montgomery Canal (Courtesy of John Tucker, SWT); Slurry Spreading; Otters General National Parks: Snowdonia National Park Severn Uplands Key Details Area 2,065 km2 Water Companies: Severn Trent Water Ltd Topography Source of Severn 61 3m (AOD) North West Water Ltd Highest point 827m (AOD) (top of Moel Sych) Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water Lowest point 55m (AOD) (Perry confluence) WREXHAM COUNTY BOROUCH COUNCIL Internal Drainage Boards: Melverley IDB Population Year Population Powysland IDB (estimated from 1991 74,800 1991 Census) 2001 (predicted) 83,000 Navigation Authorities: British Waterways - Montgomery Canal CWYNEDD Local Authorities in the plan area COUNCIL , • Towns Population / / Unitary Councils % of County % of District/Borough % of (1991) \ SHROPSHIRE plan area Councils plan area Councils plan area Oswestry 14,300 V / COUNTY Newtown 10,100 \ COUNCIL A- Powys County Council 85 Shropshire 14.5 Oswestry BC 7.5 Welshpool 5,800 -Montgomeryshire Area 84 County Shrewsbury & Llanidloes 2,700 -Radnorshire Area 1 Council Atcham BC 4 Llanfair Caereinion 1,300 Wrexham County Borough South Shropshire 3 Caersws 1,200 Council DC Montgomery 1,100 Gwynedd Council 0.5 Llanfyllin 1,100 Ceredigion Council Guilsfield 1,000 Conservation Special Area of Conservation 2 (1 with wetland interest) Sites of Special Scientific Interest 77 (49 with wetland interest) Special Wildlife Sites 112 (42 with wetland interest) Scheduled Ancient Monuments 263 (48 associated with water) Fisheries Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Shropshire Hills AONB Length of watercourse English Nature Natural Areas Oswestry Uplands designated under EC Directive Mosses and Meres for Freshwater Fisheries Shropshire Hills (78/659) Clun and NW Herefordshire Hills Salmonid 351.1 km Cyprinid - rivers 0 Water Resources and Flood Defence Cyprinid - canals 40.5 km , South Average annual rainfall (1961-1990) 1,266 mm Shropshire DC Mean daily flow of River Severn at Montford 3651 Megalitres per day Maximum mean flow (1953-1996) 37188 Megalitres per day Total licensed abstraction: 114,000 Megalitres per year Surface water 104,000 Megalitres per year Groundwater 1 0 Megalitres per year Number of licensed abstractions: Total 348 CEREDIGION Groundwater 240 Surface water 108 Storage capacity Llyn Clywedog 49,924 Megalitres Storage capacity Lake Vyrnwy 59,666 Megalitres Length of Main River 289.5 km KEY Length of Main River within IDB area 64 km Length of flood banks and floodwalls maintained by the Agency 79 km Radnorshire Area boundary No. of flood alleviation schemes 4 Main river Length of navigable canal (administered by British Waterways) 26 km Ordinary watercourse N Canal Environment Planning and Protection: Total number of consented discharges: 213 A Built up areas Water company sewage discharges and storm overflows 95 Water Quality Private sewage treatments plants_____________________________ 109 National boundary Length of river and canal (km) in each grade of the Industrial County boundary General Quality Assessment (GQA) 10km District boundary J____ L General Grade Chemistry Biology Waste Management Sites Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) A road Description 1997 1995 (see Appendix 1) Landfill sites (inert) 2 IPC authorisations 0 Railway GOOD A 207.2 174.2 Landfill sites (biodegradable) 1 Radioactive substances authorisations 0 237.3 259.9 Former landfill sites 46 Radioactive substances registrations 2 B Waste treatment plants 1 Metal recycling sites 6 FAIR C 39.8 50.2 Incinerators 0 Transfer stations 7 10 10.0 Household waste reclamation sites 1 D POOR E 0 0 BAD F 0 0 FOREWORD I am delighted to introduce the Local Environment Agency Plan (LEAP) consultation report for the Severn Uplands area encompassing the upper reaches of the Severn catchment. The majority of which is in Wales and lies mostly within the counties of Powys and Shropshire. Our aim is to protect and enhance the whole environment through the promotion of sustainable development. One way of achieving this aim is through local environment planning and collaborative action, with both the local community and other organisations. We have identified key environmental issues affecting the Severn Uplands area in consultation with various groups and organisations. We need to confirm that we have identified all the current issues and options to resolve them, and that we achieve a balance between the conflicting demands placed upon our natural environment. The LEAP process will provide a framework for protecting and improving our local environment, in partnership with others. The publication of this report marks the start of a three-month period of consultation. It will be core reading for everyone concerned with the future of the plan area. Following the consultation period we will produce a five-year Action Plan. This will set out a costed programme of work by the Agency, and by agreement, other organisations, to protect and improve the environment of the Severn Uplands area. Your views are very important and will help us produce the Action Plan. I look forward to hearing from you. ENVIRONMENT AGENCY NATIONAL LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICE m i d l a n d s r e g io n 10 W arw ick Road Steve Morlei Olton, Solihull Upper Severn Area Manager B92 7HX Environment Agency Acknowledgements The Environment Agency has compiled this report with contributions from key organisations operating in the area. The Agency is particularly grateful to the County, District and Borough Councils for the information provided; to the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency (FRCA), an executive agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Welsh Office, for the provision of information on agriculture; and to the Soil Survey and Land Research Centre for information on soils. Thanks must also go to the Severn Uplands project group members, the AEG sub-group, respondents to the informal issues consultation and to all those who have helped with the production of this document. ENVIRONMENT AGENCY Severn Uplands LEAP Consultation Report 048890 Vision for the Severn Uplands Area The Severn Uplands area is predominantly rural in character, and is known for its attractive upland landscape and great natural beauty. The rivers in the catchment of the upper reaches of the Severn support high class fisheries and provide a diversity of habitats for a wide range of flora and fauna. The area is home to around 75,000 people, who depend on their local environment in many ways and value it for the amenities and enjoyment it provides for their local communities. The picturesque and unspoilt countryside within the Severn Uplands area is also increasingly seen as a tourist attraction. The plan area has an important role far beyond its physical boundaries, and indirectly affects many people who live outside it. One reason is the plentiful high quality water in its rivers and lakes, which is used as a major source of water supply to surrounding areas. Also of note is the fact that within the area is the upper part of the longest river in Britain. What occurs in these sensitive upper reaches can have an impact downstream for a distance of up to 350 kilometres. The Environment Agency's aim for the Severn Uplands area is to: * Work towards a sustainable local environment in partnership with others. * Safeguard existing high quality water and habitats, and where appropriate work towards enhancing the environment. * Ensure that future demands on the water environment from both within and outside the catchment are planned and managed in a balanced and sustainable way for the benefit of all users. * Work in an integrated manner towards resolving those issues and problems that have been identified in the plan. Key objectives of this plan are to: * Seek to ensure that development in the area is environmentally sustainable. * Maintain the highest possible level of protection for the water environment, restore damaged habitats and protect rare and threatened species. * Improve water quality (where achievable) to meet long term River Ecosystem objectives. * Improve fisheries by making spawning areas in rivers more accessible to migratory fish. * Ensure proper management of the catchment's valuable water resources. * Promote waste minimisation and recycling and encourage better management of waste products. * Improve recreational and amenity access to watercourses where environmentally appropriate. * Educate and raise awareness of the local environment and environmental issues. The realisation of the Agency's vision will be achieved through a balanced management approach to all activities in collaboration with all users of the plan area. It is our intention to work in partnership with all relevant agencies and representative organisations to promote and achieve an integrated approach to managing our local environment. The plan highlights how the required improvements can be carried out, and future demands catered for, in a sustainable manner.