Hope for River Wye as MP Bill Wiggin helps secure £35 million from Government

“I met with the Secretary of State twice in recent days to go over an Action Plan for the River Wye.

We were hoping to get at least £5 million towards this Plan but now I am thrilled that the Government has found over £35 million to help solve the pollution in the river”, said Sir Bill.

Following an earlier meeting with Secretary of State in Herefordshire to address the condition of the River Wye, this new Plan appoints Anthea McIntyre as River Wye Champion, uniting the Environment Agency, Natural England and County Councils under her leadership.

There will be sufficient funding to work with the farming community who will now benefit from a range of incentives that promote regenerative farming, improve flood risk mitigation and reduce water pollution.

Sir Bill said:

“There will be money to create waterway buffer zones to filter phosphates; more to support the installation of waste incinerators on farms; and funding for trials to equip farms with micro-anaerobic digestion (AD) plants.

I care deeply about the environment in Herefordshire and with this unprecedented package of support from the Conservative Government I am certain that our river has a clean and bright future.”