Background: Urban diffuse pollution is recognised as the ‘reason for not achieving good status’ in 10% of waterbodies in the North West River Basin District (NWRBD).  Opportunities to address it are often restricted by the infrastructure of the urban built environment and the fragmented responsibility for tackling sources of pollution…

 Background: Micro plastics are known to cause issues to marine life and their accumulation in the oceans is an issue of growing international concern.  Research in Greater Manchester, published in 2018, highlighted that micro-plastic contamination of rivers is a significant contributor to the build-up in our oceans as well as…

Background: The planning and development process offers an opportunity to deliver EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives and to contribute towards the improvement of urban waterbodies across the North West River Basin District (NWRBD).  However, in many cases these opportunities are not taken during the development process.  Developments take place,…

Background: Plastic pollution is found around the world.  The presence of plastic in rivers and coastal waters has a negative impact on habitats, wildlife and humans. With the production and consumption of plastic set to continue, urgent action is now required.  Large scale, multi-faceted and multi-sector approaches are essential to…