68-578: River Esk is the name of: United Kingdom [ edit ] England [ edit ] River Esk, North Yorkshire , in the North York Moors National Park and the county of North Yorkshire River Esk (Ravenglass) , in the Lake District National Park and the county of Cumbria River Esk (Solway Firth) , in the north of the county of Cumbria and along
136-539: A licence authority. The agency is funded in part from the UK government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Additional money is raised from the issuing of licences and permits such as abstraction licences, waste handler registrations, navigation rights and rod (fishing) licences. Funding for asset management and improvement and acquisition of flood risk management assets has traditionally come from local authorities via flood defence committees. This
204-556: A high standard and based on sound science. The agency is the regulatory authority for all waste management activities including the licensing of sites such as landfill , incineration and recycling facilities. It also regulates the movement of hazardous wastes such as fibrous asbestos , infectious clinical wastes and harmful chemicals. The agency issues environmental permits to waste management sites and any individuals or companies found to have caused pollution or have infringed their licence conditions can be prosecuted. In serious cases
272-418: A large rockery garden, open to the public, but long since washed away by flooding of the river. The small villages along the river were at one time of great importance to the north-east, with coal mined in the valleys, and iron ore dug from quarries on the surrounding moors. Today, all that remains are the deserted mine shafts, though potash is mined, near Boulby , with tunnels running six miles beneath
340-666: A port for commercial shipping and for the fishing industry. Sea-fishing tours operate out to sea from the harbours at Whitby, with many marinas being located on the east bank of the river as it approaches the North Sea. Canoeing and kayaking can be enjoyed on almost any stretch of the River Esk (including its tributaries like Eller Beck), but is mostly undertaken between Houlsyke and Egton Bridge, Egton and Sleights and Ruswarp and Whitby. These are all located between two sets of weirs each. Local rod fishing associations have access on
408-528: A report by consultants in 2001, these are estimated to prevent annual average damage costs of approximately £3.5 billion. The agency also invests in improving or providing new installations in areas where there remains a high risk of flooding, particularly where, because of the possible consequences, the damage risk is the highest. The Thames Barrier was completed long before the EA was created but more recent examples of major defences against coastal flooding include
476-554: A tributary of the Clarence River Esk River (Queensland) North Esk River a river in Tasmania, Australia South Esk River a river in Tasmania, Australia New Zealand [ edit ] Esk River (Canterbury) , New Zealand Esk River (Hawke's Bay) , New Zealand See also [ edit ] North Esk (disambiguation) South Esk (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
544-755: Is a non-departmental public body , established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government 's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England (and until 2013 also Wales). Based in Bristol , the Environment Agency is responsible for flood management, waste management , regulating land and water pollution, and conservation. The Environment Agency's stated purpose is, "to protect or enhance
612-401: Is also responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting and warning and has a general supervisory duty for flood risk management. As of 2008 the Environment Agency also has a strategic overview role for all flood and coastal erosion risk management. The term "Flood Risk Management" in place of "Flood Defence" recognises that managed flooding is essential to meet
680-694: Is around £22& per annum. The agency uses the registration fees of some 31,000 craft on the waterways to provide some of the income. The agency's responsibilities include the non-tidal River Thames , the Medway Navigation , River Wye and River Lugg , the Royal Military Canal and the Fens and Anglian systems . The Environment Agency is organising the Fens Waterways Link a major construction project to link rivers in
748-491: Is carried out in line with the National Planning Policy Framework . The agency provides technical advice on the flood risk assessment that must be submitted with most planning applications in flood risk areas. The agency also runs public awareness campaigns to inform those at risk who may be unaware that they live in an area that is prone to flooding, as well as providing information about what
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#1732772519514816-587: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages River Esk, North Yorkshire The River Esk is a river in North Yorkshire , England that empties into the North Sea at Whitby after a course of around 28 miles (45 km) through its valley of Eskdale . The river's name is derived from the Brythonic word "isca" meaning "water". The Esk
884-477: Is no limit on the amount of the fine and sentences of up to five years imprisonment may be imposed on those responsible for the pollution or on the directors of companies causing pollution. The agency has an important role in conservation and ecology specifically along rivers and in wetlands. More general responsibility for the countryside and natural environment in England falls to the organisation Natural England . The Environment Agency's activities support users of
952-434: Is required by law under the provisions of a number of European Directives to be reported both to Parliament and to be made public. Some of these duties have been in force through predecessor agencies and as a consequence the agency maintains some long term data sets which in some cases such as the harmonised monitoring scheme exceed 30 years of consistent data collection. Monitoring is also carried out of many discharges to
1020-695: Is the only major river in Yorkshire that flows directly into the North Sea ; all other watercourses defined as being major rivers by the Environment Agency , either flow to the North Sea via the River Tees or the Humber Estuary . Due to its rural nature, the river is clean and healthy, supporting a wealth of wildlife. Salmon spawn right up through Eskdale, and a number of " leaps " are provided to enable them to travel through weirs on
1088-423: Is used to fund vital work to improve and protect fish and fisheries. Income generated is invested directly back into the angling community, improving fish stocks, boosting opportunities for anglers as well as undertaking fisheries enforcement, habitat improvement and fish rescues when needed. It is not used to fund wider water quality investigations or enforcement action. This is funded directly by government. After
1156-572: The Canal & River Trust , the Environment Agency is the second largest navigation authority in the United Kingdom managing navigation for 634 miles (1,020 km) of England's rivers. The Agency's lock-keepers maintain and operate systems of sluices , weirs and locks to manage water-levels for navigation, and where necessary to control flooding. Annual spending to maintain these installations, with an estimated replacement value of £700M,
1224-716: The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) which provides warnings of flooding which may affect England and Wales. Formed in 2009, the FFC is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter . The agency is the main regulator of discharges to air, water, and land – under the provisions of a series of Acts of Parliament. It does this through the issue of formal consents to discharge or, in
1292-745: The Medmerry managed realignment scheme in West Sussex in 2013. Recent examples of major inland flood prevention schemes include the Jubilee River . The Environment Agency provides flood forecasting and warning systems and maintains maps of areas liable to flood, as well as preparing emergency plans and responding when an event occurs. The Environment Agency carries out an advisory function in development control – commenting on planning applications within flood risk areas, providing advice to assist planning authorities in ensuring that any development
1360-601: The River Dee in England and EA staff exercise operational responsibility for those parts of the River Severn catchment in Wales. The Environment Agency employs around 10,600 staff. It is organised into eight directorates that report to the chief executive. There are two "policy and process" directorates. One deals with Flood and Coastal Risk Management and the other with Environment and Business. These are backed up by
1428-614: The River Restoration Centre at Cranfield University . Until the formation of the Environment Agency, the Government took specialist advice on the management of the environment from civil servants employed in appropriate ministries. This led to considerable duplication of effort and frequent disagreements between Government and the regulatory agencies. The Environment Agency now advises Government directly about those issues within its purview. The operational arm of
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#17327725195141496-465: The River Tweed and River Solway catchments where special arrangements exist with SEPA to avoid duplication but retain management on a catchment basis. Complex arrangements exist for the management of river regulation reservoirs , which are used to store winter water in the wetter parts of England to maintain levels in the summer time so that there is sufficient water to supply the drier parts of
1564-458: The Severn bore . The EA operates a variety of equipment and machinery along with a transport fleet in order to carry out the specialised duties of its officers, namely in survey, incident response and monitoring. Due to the remit of the EA, this includes land vehicles, marine vessels and light aircraft. The agency uses its influence and provides education to change attitudes and behaviour towards
1632-567: The A171 road bridge and the swing bridge in Whitby town. Many of the bridges in the valley had to be rebuilt after floods in 1828, 1880 and 1930. The present bowstring bridge in Ruswarp dates from 1933 when Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company opened up a new bridge to replace one swept away in 1930. The river was not used for shipping save for the area in and around Whitby harbour (which
1700-506: The Environment Agency as a whole and is responsible for the appointment of the chairman and the Environment Agency board. In addition the Secretary of State is responsible for overall policy on the environment and sustainable development within which the agency undertakes its work; the setting of objectives for the agency's functions and its contribution to sustainable development; the approval of its budget and payment of government grant to
1768-484: The Environment Agency consists of 14 areas, all of which report to the Director of Operations. As of April 2014, the Environment Agency removed its regional level of administration (formerly Anglian Region, Midlands Region, North West Region, South East Region, South West Region and Yorkshire & North East Region) to be replaced by an "area once, national once" model. The 14 area names were also changed to better reflect
1836-410: The Environment Agency has the power to revoke the environmental permits issued to sites that contravene the conditions of their permits stopping all waste handling activities. The agency has a duty to maintain and improve the quality of surface waters and ground-waters and, as part of the duty, it monitors the quality of rivers, lakes, the sea and groundwater on a regular basis. Much of this information
1904-642: The European, national and local level. Local authorities regulate air pollution from smaller industrial processes. The agency works with local authorities, National Highways and others to implement the UK government's air quality strategy in England as mandated in the Environment Act 1995 . The Environment Agency has an Air Quality Modelling and Assessment Unit (AQMAU) that aims to ensure that air quality assessments for permit applications, enforcement and air pollution incident investigations are consistent, of
1972-459: The Evidence directorate. The fourth directorate is a single Operations "delivery" unit, responsible for national services, and line management of all the regional and area staff. The remaining directorates are central shared service groups for Finance, Legal Services, Resources and Communications. In support of its aims, the agency acts as an operating authority , a regulatory authority and
2040-645: The Fens and Anglian Systems for navigation. The first stage is the South Forty-Foot Drain . Functions in relation to most canals are undertaken by the Canal and River Trust . The Environment Agency is the harbour authority for Rye and the conservancy authority for the Dee Estuary . The Environment Agency has also published information about tidal bores , these being the Trent Aegir and
2108-405: The North Sea three miles later by bisecting the resort of Whitby. Partway down the river at Danby Bridge, there is a ford in which vehicles can get trapped. Between the junction of Fryup Dale and Lealholm the river passes through a narrow, steep-sided and wooded valley known as Crunkly Ghyll. Here the river drops 100 feet (30 m) from the valley above to reach the village. Crunkly Ghyll
River Esk - Misplaced Pages Continue
2176-477: The River Esk to almost 8 miles (13 km) of riverside fishing. Most of these stretches are on banks where there is no public access. The River Esk has several notable and listed bridges on its stretch. From upstream to downstream they are; Beggars Bridge at Glaisdale (a high-arched packhorse bridge built in the 17th century), the Bowstring road bridge at Ruswarp, Larpool Viaduct between Ruswarp and Whitby,
2244-471: The River Esk. The river flows through Westerdale before merging with a large number of becks from the surrounding hills, including Tower, Baysdale, Sleddale, Danby, Great Fryup, Stonegate, Glaisdale and Murk becks. Running east through the valley known as Eskdale it leaves the moors via the villages of Sleights and Ruswarp , between which it forms the boundary of the North York Moors, and reaches
2312-454: The agency for its activities in England and approval of its regulatory and charging regimes. Its chief executive is Sir James Bevan. Sir Philip Dilley resigned as chairman on 11 January 2016, with Emma Howard Boyd becoming acting chair. Emma Howard Boyd took up the post of chair formally on 19 September 2016. The Environment Agency was created by the Environment Act 1995 , and came into existence on 1 April 1996. It had responsibility for
2380-417: The agency's sponsoring government departments. Approximately half the agency's expenditure is on flood risk management, and a third is spent on environment protection (pollution control). Of the remainder, 12% goes to water resources , and 6% to other water functions including navigation and wildlife. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has the lead sponsorship responsibility for
2448-417: The aquatic environment including sewage effluents and trade and agricultural discharges. The agency manages the use and conservation of water through the issue of water abstraction licences for activities such as drinking water supply, artificial irrigation and hydro-electricity generation. The agency is in charge of inland rivers, estuaries and harbours in England. Its remit also extends into Scotland in
2516-460: The boars took refuge in a chapel and the men tried to effect entry, but an old hermit would not allow them in. They murdered him, but before he died, the hermit forgave his murderers, if every Ascensiontide , they would plant a hedge made of hazel wood in the River Esk at Whitby which could survive three tides. The hedge needed to be cut by a penny-knife and planted as specified otherwise the men's lands would be forfeited to Whitby Abbey , and as it
2584-929: The border with Scotland, also known as the Border Esk Scotland [ edit ] River Esk (Solway Firth) , in Dumfries and Galloway and along the border with England, also known as the Border Esk River Esk, Lothian , which runs for much of its length as two separate tributaries, the North Esk and the South Esk River North Esk , in Angus and Aberdeenshire River South Esk , in Angus Australia [ edit ] Esk River (New South Wales) ,
2652-468: The case of large, complex or potentially damaging industries by means of a permit. Failure to comply with such a consent or permit or making a discharge without the benefit of a consent can lead to criminal prosecution. A magistrates' court can impose fines of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment for each offence of causing or knowingly permitting pollution. If prosecuted in the Crown Court , there
2720-638: The country with drinking water. The Environment Agency fisheries service has a statutory duty to maintain, improve and develop migratory and freshwater fisheries as set out in the Environment Act 1995. The interpretation of this is set out in Ministerial guidance as: The Environment Agency has the power under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 to license fishing for salmon trout, freshwater fish, eels, lamprey and smelt and to set duties for
2788-458: The course. There are clearly visible examples at Ruswarp , where the tidal stretch through to Whitby begins and at Sleights . Around Whitby the Esk has a large population of sea trout , and the river is noted for freshwater pearl mussels (the only river in Yorkshire to have them), although these are threatened with extinction due to buildups of silt in the river. In 2021, conservationists removed
River Esk - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-431: The environment are commented on in any detail. For many years the agency has been offering strong advice against the development of land in floodplains because of the risk of flooding. Whilst in some instances, this advice may not have been appreciated in its entirety, in a large number of cases this advice has been used to reach decisions on planning applications. The Environment Agency is also an advisory board member of
2924-560: The environment, taken as a whole" so as to promote "the objective of achieving sustainable development " (taken from the Environment Act 1995 , section 4). Protection of the environment relates to threats such as flood and pollution. The vision of the agency is of "a rich, healthy and diverse environment for present and future generations". The Environment Agency's remit covers almost the whole of England, about 13 million hectares of land, 22,000 miles (35,000 km) of river and 3,100 miles (5,000 km) of coastline seawards to
2992-524: The environment. Action, in several policy areas, is directed towards business and commerce at all levels, children in education, the general public and government and local government. This last area is quite distinct from the agency's statutory role to advise government. In local government planning processes, the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee on all planning matters from county strategic plans down to individual planning applications. In reality only those applications judged to pose special risks to
3060-429: The fire spread quickly in the inside of the wall leading to substantial smoke damage throughout. The building was quickly evacuated and the fire under control in under an hour. The resulting internal document proposed additional standards for the handling of materials that offer environmental advantages but may be considered more susceptible to ignition. On 1 April 2013, that part of the Environment Agency covering Wales
3128-458: The flood warning codes and symbols mean and how to respond in the event of a flood. The agency operates Floodline , a 24-hour telephone helpline on flooding. Floodline covers England, Wales and Scotland but not Northern Ireland, and provides information and advice including property flood-risk checks, flood warnings, and flood preparation advice. In partnership with the Met Office it runs
3196-422: The guise of angling. Since the byelaw was introduced and enforced, the numbers of rod-caught salmon per year, further upstream, has increased each year (to 177 in 2010). The byelaw was due to expire in 2012, but was further extended to the end of December 2018. The river is used for boating in the lower reaches, especially in the upper and lower harbour areas of Whitby town. The two harbour areas also function as
3264-679: The mussel colony into a specialist facility to encourage the mussels to release their young, which can be raised in a secure safe environment, before the mussels are then all put back. The Esk is also the only major river in Yorkshire to drain directly into the North Sea . The river rises at the Esklets on Westerdale Moor in the North York Moors . The Esklets are actually three moorland streams that combine in Westerdale to form
3332-519: The port which deals in fertilisers, steel and potash as well as other smaller cargoes. Every year on Ascension Eve (38 days after Easter Sunday ), a ceremony is held at 9:00 am on the east side of the upper harbour, to celebrate the planting of the Penny Hedge . This stems from an old folklore tale of how in 1159, three noblemen of the area were out hunting boar in the Eskdale woods. One of
3400-634: The predecessor bodies were disbanded and the local authorities relinquished their waste regulatory role. At the same time, the agency took responsibility for issuing flood warnings to the public, a role previously held by the police. In 2010 a new national headquarters for the agency was opened at Horizon House in Deanery Road, Bristol . The building, which was designed by Alec French Architects, received Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment ( BREEAM ) certification for its environmentally friendly construction and operation which includes
3468-502: The provision of fishing licences. Fishing licence income along with a small amount of Grant in Aid (GiA) provides the funding to deliver the statutory duty to maintain, improve and develop freshwater and migratory fisheries, including the current fisheries service provided to recreational anglers. The EA's funding principles mean that income from the sale of fishing licences is entirely ringfenced re-invested back into fisheries work. Many of
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#17327725195143536-437: The requirements of a sustainable flood strategy. It is often not economically feasible or even desirable to prevent all forms of flooding in all locations, and so the Environment Agency uses its powers to reduce either the likelihood or consequences of flooding. The Environment Agency is responsible for operating, maintaining and replacing an estimated £20 billion worth of flood risk management (FRM) installations. According to
3604-560: The rivers and wetlands, including anglers and boaters. The agency states that they take a "leading role in limiting and preparing for the impacts of climate change." The agency is a regulator for the release of air pollutants into the atmosphere from large, complex industrial processes. This will soon include emissions from some large-scale agricultural activities, but air pollutant releases from many agricultural activities will continue to be unregulated. Major sources of air pollution, such as transport, are subject to various measures at
3672-427: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=River_Esk&oldid=1221674913 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3740-679: The sea, some of the deepest in Europe. Of the major rivers in Yorkshire (as defined by the Environment Agency), the Esk is the only one to flow into the North Sea directly without flowing into either the River Tees or the Humber Estuary. Since 1987 a byelaw has been in place to protect dangerously dwindling populations of salmon and sea trout. The River Esk Tideway Byelaw 1987, prevents fishing for salmon and sea trout along
3808-624: The societal and environmental outcomes the fisheries service currently deliver, and aspire to deliver on a greater scale, is through partnership working. Working with partners such as the Angling Trust, the Wild Trout Trust and the Riverfly partnership allows the EA to maximise fishing licence income through match funding to deliver against key benefits for fishing and fisheries across the country. Income from fishing licence sales
3876-499: The stretch of the Esk between Ruswarp and Whitby known as the tideway. The Environment Agency enforces the byelaw under s210 and Schedule 25 of the Water Resources Act 1991 . The byelaw was renewed in 1997 for 5 years, then again in 2002 for 10 years. After a peak of 924 rod-caught salmon per year in 1965, the number dropped to just 11 in 1989. This was due mainly to illegal poaching of stocks from this stretch under
3944-671: The three-mile limit which includes 2 million hectares of coastal waters. In a sharing arrangement with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), it also exercises some of its functions over parts of the catchments of the River Tweed and the Border Esk which are, for the most part, in Scotland . Similarly, in an arrangement with NRW , political and operational areas are not coterminus. NRW staff exercise responsibility for parts of
4012-412: The tidal limit of Ruswarp, mills were placed on the weir to grind corn. The first one was constructed in 1752, with the last being used as a mill in 1962. In 2012, a hydro-electric plant was constructed on the weir to generate green energy for the local area. Currently, Whitby is involved in the fishing industry (mostly whitefish ) which is landed by its own trawler fleet. There is a commercial side to
4080-416: The use of sustainable materials, natural ventilation and cooling, photoelectric panels and rainwater harvesting . On 24 April 2013, Horizon House suffered a fire leading to its closure for several weeks. An investigation into the fire found it was that result of workmen accidentally igniting the environmentally friendly cavity wall insulation on the ground floor and due to the design of the upward airflow
4148-568: The whole of England and Wales but with specifically designated border arrangements with Scotland covering the catchment of the River Tweed . It took over the roles and responsibilities of the National Rivers Authority (NRA), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution (HMIP) and the waste regulation authorities in England and Wales including the London Waste Regulation Authority (LWRA). All of
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#17327725195144216-554: Was a penance as part of the hermits forgiving them their crime, if they did not carry it out, they could have faced execution charges. The tradition has been carried out every year since (according to available records) apart from 1981, when the tide was already too high to build the hedge. from source (flows into the North Sea) The Esk Valley Walk runs along part of the length of the river. Environment Agency The Environment Agency ( EA )
4284-463: Was also host to shipbuilding and timber processing plants, but most of this industry was defunct by the First World War . At Boghall and Larpool, the river was diverted in 1833 to accommodate the railway between Whitby and Pickering . This area was also the location of a whale blubber rendering plant, which was said to have afflicted the town with an awful stench. Further upstream at
4352-519: Was formed during the last great ice age as a huge wall of ice moved across the landscape carving out what is now the Esk Valley as far as Lealholm. At its head it formed a massive dam blocking the flow of water from above and creating a lake running back up the valley to Commondale. As the ice melted, the river forced its way out carving the ravine we see today. In Victorian times, the Ghyll was home to
4420-547: Was merged into Natural Resources Wales , a separate body managing the Welsh environment and natural resources. The Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management operating authority . It has the power (but not the legal obligation) to manage flood risk from designated main rivers and the sea. These functions in relation to other rivers (defined as ordinary watercourses ) in England are undertaken by local authorities or internal drainage boards . The Environment Agency
4488-420: Was notable for its whale industry and its shipbuilding ). Whilst coal was mined in upper Eskdale, it was not found in sufficient quantities to be used in the alum industry; coal was trans-shipped in from Tyneside and Wearside for this. Hand in hand with the shipbuilding industry, was the ropery works that nestled around the harbour. Whitby's last official ropery was on the south side of Spital Beck. This area
4556-406: Was provided in the form of 'flood defence grant-in-aid' from government (£578 million for England and £50 million for Wales). In addition, £347 million (34 per cent) was raised through statutory charging schemes and flood defence levies; and a further £50 million (5 per cent) came from other miscellaneous sources. In 2007–08 had an operational budget of £1.025 billion, of which £628m was grant from
4624-474: Was then effectively repaid by central government in later years as part of the Formula Spending Share. In 2005 this was simplified by making a direct transfer from Treasury to the Environment Agency in the form of flood defence grant-in-aid . The Environment Agency's total funding in 2007–08 was £1,025 million, an increase of £23 million on 2006–07. Of that total, £629 million (61 per cent)
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