Background Historic habitat loss and degradation means that only a small fraction of natural wetland and woodland habitats now remain in northwest England, and networks of these key habitats are significantly fragmented, which can disrupt species dispersal and reduce the ecological function of remaining habitat patches. Providing bigger, better and…

Background Environment Agency projects, whether large scale flood protection schemes or smaller environmental projects, capital or revenue, are delivered by teams with a specific remit relevant to the project. Although other teams may be involved at various other stages, the project is usually designed by a single team to meet…

Background The waterbodies of the Irk catchment are failing to reach good ecological potential for reasons including physical modifications, diffuse pollution and point source pollution. To get the Irk to ‘good’, a wide range of organisations and stakeholders need to work together to achieve shared aims. The river corridor has…

Background The development of innovative finance models to support natural capital investment is a key aim of Natural Course and the Greater Manchester Urban Pioneer programme. Establishing and implementing a Natural Capital Investment Plan to mobilise existing and new sources of funding was also one of the key outcomes from…

Background Whilst an increase in urbanisation may be required to meet Greater Manchester’s growth aspirations, we need to ensure that our `natural capital’ i.e. the quality of the environment (and the ecosystem services it provides) is sufficient to support greater concentrations of people and business, and enhance quality of life…

Background Urban diffuse pollution is recognised as a significant issue in 10% of the waterbodies in the North West River Basin District. Surveys conducted during Phases 1 & 2 show that the issue of urban diffuse pollution is particularly prevalent in the urban catchments of Greater Manchester. There are multiple…