River Monitoring Group & Air Pollution Monitoring
Poor state of the Clun River Catchment area
Shropshire Wildlife Trust (Clun & BC) passed a resolution in April 2025 which stated:-
In 2010, six out of the eight river reaches in the Clun catchment assessed by the Environment Agency were found to have a ‘good’ ecological status. By 2022 (the most recent year for which an assessment has been made), only one of the eight reaches was judged to be ‘good’.
The Clun Strategic Liaison Group, the body responsible, replied as follows:-
Strategic Clun Liaison Group response to SWT resolution
SWT responded as follows:-
Response Final to Strategic Clun Liaison Group
Upper Teme & Clun Catchment
Intensive Poultry Units in and around the Clun Catchment Area
The outer ring is not linked hydrologically to the water quality and may have no effect at all on the mussel population above Leintwardine bridge. But poultry manure does get transported around.
We already know the planet is facing a life-threatening climate and ecological emergency. While Bishop’s Castle and its hinterland may be a relatively good place to be for the next 20-30 years, it may also be affected in that time by changes to the Gulf Stream, melting ice caps, other serious climate changes, or the critical loss of pollinator insects with the risk of severe flooding, power outages and food supply problems.
More widely, the UK is being affected by changes elsewhere. Large-scale, climate-led population upheavals and migration will almost certainly cause significant political, economic and social disruption. Climate-related crises (drought, forest fires, flooding, crop failures) elsewhere in the world could have serious knock-on effects. This kind of disruption could well occur in the next 2 decades.
Photograph by Daphne du Cros at Little Woodbatch Market Garden, Bishop’s Castle
All the proposals in the CAP spring from two starting points:-
i) mitigating the worst effects of the climate emergency; and,
ii) adapting and building resilience to prepare for major change.
These proposals are not complete and will remain under continuous review as conditions change and as we consider priorities and time-scales. For example, time and resources have not allowed the production of chapters on issues such as Transport and Health.
There are many practical suggestions in the CAP, and even slight modifications in the way we live our everyday lives can make a significant difference to our environment. We would urge you to read the full document.
Any comments or suggestions you have would be most welcome and can be made by contacting the Sustainability Working Group chair: Mike Watkins
Contact at: bccap@lightfootenterprises.org