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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Unfinished business? Kemi Badenoch’s #Conservatives would cut the #EnvironmentAgency - again. Past cuts led to the #SewageScandal For example, its environmental protection budget was cut from £170m in 2009 to £76m in 2020. More on EA cuts + jobs lost in AltText #CPC26

The effect of austerity cuts to the Agency and an obsession with deregulation led to the sewage scandal we’re still facing and paying for now:

- The Agency’s environmental protection budget more than halved - £170m in 2009-10 to £76m in 19-20.

- From 2013-16, 1,700 staff were cut as the Agency’s environment and business grant in aid (GiA) revenue funding fell by £21m and its flood control risk management GiA fell by £12.5m.

- According to Freedom of Information requests by the Liberal Democrats further job losses arose from the real term cuts between 2017-19 and 2021-23, saw a further 8,836 staff

www.libdems.org.uk/press/release/almost-9000-staff-leave-environment-agency-following-cuts-and-low-morale

NB the Lib Dems were part of the Conservative-led coalition that initiated the cuts and deregulatory zeal.

Ministers also interfered with the Agency by telling it to go easy on polluters by not pursuing legal action and fines.

For example, between 2012 and 2021:

- Prosecutions undertaken by the Agency fell from 300 in 2012 to fewer than 20 in 2021.

- There was a less severe two-fold drop civil actions.

- Most (59%) of the 4,074 enforcement actions against companies saw no fine imposed.

The Agency also became less responsive to reports of pollution:

- From 2015 to 2020 Agency investigations launched dropped 30% from 11,436 to 8,088.

- In 2023, the Environment Agency
visited only 10% of water pollution incidents reported including over 60% of those regarded as the “most serious types of incident”.

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Reposted by Paul de Zylva

Channel 4 News @channel4news.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Undercover footage verified by Channel 4 News reveals a secret plot by senior Reform UK figures to break the law on party donations. A leading legal expert is now calling for a criminal investigation. 🔗 Read the exclusive story on Substack:

channel4news.substack.com

Exclusive: Nigel Farage filmed undercover celebrating secret new foreign donations

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I didn’t use a colander because I didn’t want to strain my eyes…

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Silly season in full swing at the #DailyMail. Let’s dig this ill-judged headline and ill-informed article out when the nation’s scalped uplands and denuded landscapes fail to offer any protection from flooding.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Review of HS2 cost & time overruns to highlight politicians’ speed fixation. #HS2 has blown its budget 5 times over - £100 BILLION Vs the £19bn an original cost. Yet ministers & media prefer to blame bats and the modest £120 MILLION cost of so called ‘bat tunnel’. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

HS2 failings blamed on high-speed focus and political pressure

A new reviews confirms the high-speed rail line's

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

No water firm boss in England was up for appear on #Channel4News to defend their #sewage spills. That is despite the 2025 spills being less than in 2024, mainly due to the lack of rain. Good news, no? Worth remembering the next time water companies talk up what they are doing.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Hmmm, I will be looking at the detail of this new updated Environmental Improvement Plan #EIP to see if it’s fit for purpose. If it isn’t, we’ll… #EnvironmetalImprovementPlan two sider.

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Reposted by Paul de Zylva

Peat-free Partnership @peatfree.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

We’re joining together to demand an end to peat sales once and for all. Add your voice to the nationwide call to #EndPeatSales once and for all, to level the playing field and protect our peatlands. actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sales #Gardening #Horticulture #Nature

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

“I was fined for pouring away a small splash of coffee, yet Co’s that release harmful chemicals into our rivers often face no consequences. If we’re serious about protecting the environment, responsibility has to start at the top” www.rsc.org/news/burcu-yesilyurt-coffee-polluter-pays-partnership

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Rosebank's emissions revealed: Equinor and Ithaca Energy say nearly 250 million tonnes of emissions would be released from using oil products from the Rosebank oil field, if it starts operating. That compares with the UK's emissions of 371 million tonnes in 2024. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Controversial UK oil field reveals climate impact if approved

The impact from the Rosebank oil field is estimated at nearly 250 million tonnes of planet warming CO2.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Nothing to do with us, guv! Intensive livestock firm denies it has a role in the decline of the supposedly ‘protected’ River Wye that’s seen pollution rise as intensive rearing units have proliferated. Largest UK environmental lawsuit over river pollution www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

River Wye pollution prompts UK's largest environmental lawsuit

Livestock and water companies are accused of “extensive” pollution in the Wye, Lugg and Usk rivers.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

No surprise. Root cause is govt cuts to Environment Agency - and ministers directing it to go easy on polluters. That led to less monitoring of water pollution, and less responsiveness to reports of pollution - whether sewage or the other pollutants damaging our rivers. www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Environment Agency failed to visit serious pollution incidents, leaked files show

Data from inside England's environment watchdog show an agency struggling to monitor serious pollution.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

The government is not only undermining its 2024 manifesto pledges to protect nature – it is sliding into Trumpian, post-truth politics. Me in The Big Issue www.bigissue.com/opinion/mini...

bigissue.com

Blaming nature for the housing problem is straight from the Trump playbook

The government is not only undermining its 2024 manifesto pledges to protect nature – it is sliding into Trumpian, post-truth politics.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

The penny’s dropped - sewage is not - and never was - the only pollutant harming our rivers, freshwaters + coastal seas. Govt now needs to end austerity funding of Environment Agency + Natural Natural and assure their independence from more political meddling. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Ministers vow to tackle all forms of water pollution in England and Wales

Exclusive: Commitment comes as data shows serious pollution events involving water firms up by 60%

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Labour’s first year: the verdict of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace: - Climate and Energy: Reasons to be cheerful - Nature and Environment: Cause for concern - Homes and Transport: Glimmers of hope, perhaps - Justice and Democracy: Poor friendsoftheearth.uk/system-chang...

friendsoftheearth.uk

The Labour government – our assessment 1 year on | Friends of the Earth

One year after the last general election, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace assess how the Labour government has performed on climate and nature action.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Royal College of Physicians (RCP) says “there is no safe level” of air pollution and that 99 per cent of the public in the UK are breathing “toxic air”. RCP reports the health costs - “30,000 deaths per year” - and the costs to the UK economy of £27-50 billion a year www.rcp.ac.uk/policy-and-c....

rcp.ac.uk

A breath of fresh air: responding to the health challenges of modern air pollution

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

It’s not about whether we have new housing or upgraded infrastructure. As you are no doubt paying attention to what the actual concern is here, you’ll know that.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Rachel Reeves fails to mention in her #SpendingReview (SR) speech the UK’s poor state of nature. That’s reflected in the modest (at best) SR funding for nature restoration, nature-friendly farmers. Spun as historic investment when it’s a 2.3% budget cut for Defra on top of 45% cuts 2010-19. Fail.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

UK Govt says the cost to public purse of #Sizewell is £17.8 bn. I make it £24bn. The latest £14.2bn adds to £5.5bn given in Sept ’24 = £19.7bn Add £4.3bn given by the last govt: £1.3bn in Jan 24; £511m in Sept 23; £100m in Jan 22; £700m in Nov 22; £1.7bn in Oct 21. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...

bbc.co.uk

Sizewell C nuclear plant gets go-ahead with £14.2bn of government funding

The government says the plant, which will take at least a decade to build, will deliver a

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

The UK government is going ‘further and faster’ in allowing UK nature to be destroyed. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Integrity, always integrity. The ‘integrity’ buzzword abounds in UKgov’s new consultation on how Voluntary #Carbon & #Nature Markets #VCNM can be high integrity, transparent, trustworthy etc and not just another dodgy deal on the way to #climate chaos and nature’s demise www.gov.uk/government/n...

gov.uk

UK backs businesses to trade carbon credits and unlock finance

British businesses and organisations better supported to trade carbon credits as part of new work to establish the UK as the global hub for green finance.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

‘Anthropocene Illusion' - Zed Nelson’s shot of a bored-looking chimp in Shanghai wins the Sony World Photo Award. Nelson explores humanity’s fractured relationship with nature, from safari parks to synthetic green spaces, and reveal a world where the wild is staged and the natural is anything but.

$‘Anthropocene Illusion' by Zed Nelson Photo of a bored-looking chimpanzee in Shanghai Wild Animal Park wins the 2025 Sony World Photography Award. The Anthropocene Illusion explores humanity’s fractured relationship with nature, from safari parks to synthetic green spaces, Nelson’s images reveal a world where the wild is staged and the natural is anything but. https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/04/16/from-skater-girls-to-climate-illusions-meet-the-winners-of-the-2025-sony-world-photography$

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Reposted by Paul de Zylva

Heard Island Government @heardislandgov.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Defence Ministry: Shoreline defence force Gentoo’s prepare mortars. Our Navy Seals conduct clandestine training, and teach tactical camouflage and concealment to juveniles. We stand ready. Flippers Up.

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Reposted by Paul de Zylva

National Park City @nationalparkcity.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Congratulations to our friends in Chattanooga, Tennessee which has been recognised as North America’s 1st National Park City. From the most polluted city in the USA in the 70s to an unrivalled outdoor destination and biodiversity hotspot. Full announcement buff.ly/Zpg0HRD

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Me in The Telegraph: “We can only imagine how bad sewage pollution was before real-time monitoring… Water customers – who are about to be hit with even higher water bills – will wonder what happened to their money which should have been used to prevent pollution long before now”

The Telegraph reports on the Environment Agency’s data for sewage spills in 2024 according to the use of real-time Event Duration Monitors (EDMs) in sewage overflows.

My full quote follows - see other photos and ALT text.

Green bar charts showing water and sewerage company sewage spills.

More bar charts but in blue following by opening quote:

"Despite politicians' warm words, these figures show we're nowhere near slowing the level of sewage entering our rivers and seas, putting wildlife and our health at serious risk.”

The rest of my quote (and the bit the sub editors cut out!):

"We can only imagine how bad sewage pollution was before the use of real-time monitoring, which was only introduced in 2023.

“Water customers – who are about to be hit with even higher water bills – will wonder what happened to their money which should have been used to prevent pollution long before now."

The Telegraph did not use the rest of my quote:

"We need urgent, bold action by the government, not more anti-regulation rhetoric from ministers, to hold these and other serial polluters to account."

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

PM Starmer challenged over his “I’m not making this up” claims about Jumping Spiders blocking housing sprawl. Charities accuse Starmer of misleading spider claims www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Charities accuse Keir Starmer of misleading jumping spider claims

Charities say rare spiders did not block "an entire new town", as the prime minister suggested.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Another way to view the cost to taxpayers + water bill payers (ie everyone) of Thames Water collapsing is that EVERYONE already pays through the nose for decades of a) mismanagement + financial chicanery by Thames Water’s owners b) lax regulation by govt + ‘regulators’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Warning Thames Water collapse could hit taxpayers and pensions

Ofwat says placing Thames under government control could end up costing taxpayers billions of pounds.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Windermere - “only rainwater” to enter “national treasure” Sounds great, but as sewage is only part of the problem this pledge only works if govt also addresses pollution run-off from land, farms, and roads, and airborne acidic pollution. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... www.gov.uk/government/n...

bbc.co.uk

Government pledges to clean up Windermere in Lake District - BBC News

Environment Secretary Steve Reed pledges "only rainwater" will enter Windermere as part of its plan.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

How could you question such personages?

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Clean air capital Better breathing in #London thanks to a Mayor with the guts to end decades of Londoners + visitors breathing dangerously bad air - not just talk about it. Note the benefits to people in boroughs that opposed extending #ULEZ to the entire capital. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Ulez: Cleaner air for Londoners after expansion, study finds - BBC News

London pollution has reduced after the controversial expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone, a report finds.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Mr Sunak is as wrong on net zero now as when he was PM. 2025 - NZ is a ‘noble’ aim but shouldn’t be a legal target. 2023 - “absolutely unequivocal" about hitting NZ. He then cast NZ as a burden ignoring how high gas&oil costs will rise esp as he cut home insulation www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Stop the Boats slogan was too stark, Rishi Sunak tells BBC

The former prime minister examines his time in Downing Street, with the BBC's Nick Robinson for Political Thinking.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

When They Say There’s No Money #2: UK to scrap windfall tax on North Sea oil profits www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... In Oct ‘24, it committed £21.7bn to Carbon Capture & Storage. Oil firms gave just £8bn, but use CCS to appear ‘green’ while using it to ‘max out’ deposits. #WhenTheySayTheresNoMoney

bbc.co.uk

UK government to end North Sea windfall tax in 2030

The announcement comes with a number of measures aimed at transitioning from oil and gas to renewable energy.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Compare and Contrast: Trump ❤️ Putin Trump ✋ finger points at Zelensky

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

When They Say There’s No Money #1: Feb 25: UK cuts £6bn pa in overseas aid to boost defence budgets. Jan 22: Labour finds £13bn in "wasted" defence spend incl £4.8bn in cancelled contracts + £5.6bn overspends. #WhenTheySayTheresNoMoney Minister quits over aid cuts www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds quits over aid cuts

Dodds delayed her resignation until after Keir Starmer's meeting with President Trump, saying he had needed a united cabinet.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

OK, but a vision without execution is just hallucination. Govt’s and businesses habitually fail to hit nature + climate targets. And they spend more of their time and $€¥£ destroying nature + ecosystems than protecting and restoring them. #COP16Resumed #PeacewithNature phys.org/news/2025-02...

phys.org

World agrees hard-fought nature funding plan at UN talks

Nations cheered a last-gasp deal to map out funding to protect nature Thursday, breaking a deadlock at UN talks seen as a test for international cooperation in the face of geopolitical tensions.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

This plan for the 4 🇬🇧 nations has admirable aims, but is a cut-and-paste of existing inadequate policies. Reversing nature’s decline UK wide needs a credible strategy. This isn’t it @jncc.bsky.social @daera-ni.gov.uk @ukgovernment.bsky.social @scottishgov.bsky.social @welshgovernment.bsky.social

The UK's long overdue National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is out: https://uk.chm-cbd.net/sites/gb/files/2025-02/UK_National_Biodiversity_Strategy_and_Action_Plan.pdf

My view:

This plan covering the four nations of the UK has some admirable aims but it’s mostly a cut-and-paste collage of existing inadequate policies.

If we’re to reverse decades of nature decline across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, we urgently need a credible strategy to do so.

The UK remains one of the most nature-depleted countries globally – it’s unclear whether this plan goes to the lengths needed to reverse the dire state of nature UK-wide.

Without more ambition from the UK and devolved governments we may well face another decade of species, habitats and ecosystems being degraded or lost altogether.

Context:

The UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) brings the global agreement to reverse the poor state of nature back down to earth here in the UK.

It is how each government in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will act to reverse the poor state of nature UK-wide by acting to reverse the poor state of nature in their respective nation.

By acting in each nation and UK-wide, the NBSAP is also about how the UK contributes to global action to restore nature. The UK helped negotiate and is a signatory to the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the world’s agreement on reversing nature’s decline.

The NBSAP turns the GBF’s 23 actions into on-the-ground delivery UK-wide. It also covers the UK’s responsibility toward its Overseas Territories (UKOTs) and Crown Dependencies.

With only 53% of its biodiverse web of life intact, the UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted nations.

That puts the UK in the bottom 10 per cent of nations, 228th out of 240 nations.

The UK is also the worst nation in the G7 for its biodiversity intactness.

All UK nations are low down in the list of nations for intactness of their biodiversity.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Happy Birthday Richard Mabey, Britain’s foremost ‘nature writer.

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

“Farming's top of the agenda as far as I am concerned..." That’s Sir Kier Starmer at PMQs replying to a question by Harriet Cross MP who asked if his farming minister, Daniel Zeichner, was right to say that farming’s down the pecking order. See ALT text for the full Q&A. #FamilyFarmTax #Farming

Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer replies to question at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 12 February 2025.

Sir Kier said “Farming's top of the agenda as far as I am concerned..."

Harriet Cross, the Conservative MP for Gordon & Buchan, asked Sir Kier:

"Yesterday, the farming minister told a conference of farmers that farming is not high in the pecking order for this government. Given the heartless 'family farm tax' is his minister correct yes or no?"

Sir Kier Starmer replied:

"Farming's top of the agenda as far as I am concerned. That's why we've put £5 billion to support farmers in the budget. They failed to spend £300 million on their watch on farming. And we set out our roadmap which has been welcomed by the NFU as she very well knows. It was described as 'long overdue'. (I wonder why they didn't do it before.)”

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Paul de Zylva @pauldezylva.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Multi-millionaire owned estate fined £20k for taking water from sensitive chalk stream during drought. Meanwhile, the UK govt has shelved the #ChalkStreams Restoration Strategy + Implementation Plan. Both bad. Wondering which is worse. #Rivers #NatureRecovery #Water www.gov.uk/government/n...

gov.uk

Ilchester Estate pays nearly £28,000 for over abstracting water

The Environment Agency used powers to impose a Variable Monetary Penalty after the estate took more water from the Dorset Frome than it was licensed to do.

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Reposted by Paul de Zylva

Miles King @milesking.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

England’s wildlife watchdog failing to protect crucial sites, say campaigners www.theguardian.com/environment/... great piece by @patrickbarkham.bsky.social on Natural England's failure to do its most important job: notifying Sites of Special Scientific Interest, to protect them in perpetuity.

theguardian.com

England’s wildlife watchdog failing to protect crucial sites, say campaigners

In three years Natural England has designated just two new SSSIs, which protect areas from development

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