Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, has summoned water industry bosses to Whitehall after a report found that the environmental performance of the big companies has worsened despite investment.

“People are sick of excuses,” Dame Angela said, after the Environment Agency joined the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat for a joint report that rated eight of the nine water companies in England as “poor” or “requiring improvement”.

There were 74 serious pollution incidents, the category that causes significant harm to the environment, the report said. That was just one fewer than the previous year, despite billions of pounds of investment, bans on bosses’ bonuses and a public outcry. The watchdog’s environmental performance assessment ratings of water companies added up to 16 “stars” out of a possible 36, a fall from 19 the previous year, and the lowest score since the process began.

About 25,000 members of public chip in £17m towards 3,800-hectare Rothbury estate, described as ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ Mark Brown North of England correspondent Fri 30 Oct 2026 06.00 CET Share Prefer the Guardian on Google

One of the most ambitious nature recovery projects ever undertaken in England can go ahead after campaigners announced they had raised £30m to buy an estate in Northumberland.

The Wildlife Trusts’ bid to buy the Rothbury estate, an area the size of Athens, had been championed by David Attenborough who on Friday thanked the public for their help.

New sightings of one of the UK's rarest beetles shows the species is on the move, scientists say.

The great silver water beetle - which is usually found on the Somerset Levels and in the east of England - was spotted in two places in Gloucestershire - far further to the west of the country than usual.

Citizen scientists Gordon Kirk and Bill Watkins made the discoveries during routine moth monitoring in the Severn Vale and Beachley respectively.

Britain's largest ever woodland survey of bats would "simply not have been feasible" without AI, scientists say.

Researchers left devices on poles among the trees of 310 woodlands across Britain, recording 98 million bat calls over three years, which would have taken more than 30 years to analyse without AI.

Some of Britain's rarest and most threatened bats, including the red-listed Barbastelle, have been recorded in the south-west of England, including Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

Seabird numbers in parts of the Solent have had a record year thanks to habitat improvement works and conservation efforts by RSPB staff and volunteers, with increases in numbers of breeding pairs of Sandwich Terns, Black-headed Gulls, Little Terns, Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers; and notable breeding success of Avocets.

The Sandwich Tern colony at RSPB Pagham Harbour was decimated in 2022 following the onslaught of HPAI (bird flu) that saw the island colony completely abandoned. Thanks to dedicated reserve staff and volunteer action over multiple years alongside the Solent Seascape Project, their numbers have reached at least 756 breeding pairs this year, with 570 fledglings recorded in 2026. Black-headed Gulls also prospered at RSPB Pagham Harbour this year, with an increase in fledglings from 51 in 2025 to 504 in 2026, alongside Little Terns, whose numbers jumped from 21 fledglings last year to 34 in 2026. Vital conservation work has included ensuring nesting habitat is in perfect condition for returning birds by removing selected vegetation, monitoring for the presence of rats and preventing other mammalian predators of ground-nesting birds using predator-exclusion fencing, whilst providing ongoing monitoring and protection by in person patrols and remote cameras.

A central focus of the Symposium will be the opportunity for UK businesses to hear directly from four foundation technology developers, Entrion Wind, Marine Power Systems, Neretek, and OSI Renewables, who will come together on stage to discuss their approaches to developing offshore wind in deeper waters and the capabilities they need from the supply chain.

The companies will take part in dedicated 1:1 meetings with delegates, providing opportunities for businesses to explore potential collaboration, understand future technology requirements, and identify where their expertise could support emerging projects.

Advances in foundation technology could extend the viability of fixed-bottom offshore wind into deeper waters, opening up new areas for potential development. Unlocking these opportunities will depend on overcoming technical and commercial challenges associated with foundation design, seabed conditions, transportation and installation, drawing on the UK’s established underwater engineering expertise.

The Queen of Spain has invaded. The enigmatic British visits of this gorgeous golden-coloured butterfly with distinctively shaped, squared-off hindwings have been recorded by lepidopterists for four centuries. Usually there are barely a handful of sightings each summer of a butterfly that is widespread across continental Europe.

This year, thousands have flown in, some from France and Spain that have reached the south coast, and others from the Netherlands, which have fluttered into East Anglia.

These migrants have bred, and British-born offspring have emerged this autumn. Last week, hundreds were spotted at East Tilbury and Linford beside the Thames in Essex.

Yorkshire Water has been given the lowest possible environmental rating by the Environment Agency (EA) after a sharp rise in pollution incidents.

The regulator is set to formally downgrade the company from two stars out of four to one, meaning it is now classed as a "poor performing company" for its impact on the environment.

The firm, which serves 2.4 million homes in the region, said its environmental performance was "not where it needs to be".

Pine marten officially confirmed to be residing in South Devon with camera-trap footage showing of pine marten scampering through woodland. It's another success story from the Two Moors Pine Marten Project.

The National Trust and Devon Wildlife Trust are celebrating years of hard work as woodlands in South Devon welcome a new pine marten resident.

Two years since pine martens were reintroduced to the South West through the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, these once native woodland animals have now established themselves across Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Conservationists are trying to re-establish a population of rare manx shearwaters on the Isle of Canna.

The island in the Small Isles, off the west of Scotland, had as many as 3,000 breeding adult birds, but the colony was devastated by a rat infestation.

Rats were eradicated on Canna in 2005, and National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has now moved 40 young manx shearwaters to the island from the nearby Isle of Rum.

Andy Burnham will “sleepwalk” into climate disaster if he fails to get a grip on a series of important policies whose combined impact could scupper plans to reach net zero, campaigners have said.

Big decisions on North Sea drilling, the expansion of Heathrow airport, electric vehicles (EVs) and grants for heat pumps are awaiting decisions from ministers.

But they should be considered in the context of their cumulative impacts rather than be taken separately by different government departments, according to Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth (FoE) in a letter to the prime minister.

Properly funded Environmental Land Management schemes are vital for building climate-resilient food security, managing water systems and lowering food prices, warns The Wildlife Trusts ahead of the Budget

New economic analysis, published today by The Wildlife Trusts, shows a funding gap of over £2 billion for England’s Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs), leaving both the farming community and nature facing a crisis.

England’s farmers endured an exceptionally wet winter last year, followed by the hottest summer on record. With more heavy rainfall expected this winter and an even hotter summer forecast for 2027, The Wildlife Trusts warn that the increasing cost of inaction could be huge, with billions lost due to flooding, wildfires and soil loss. Nature-based solutions to these worsening challenges, enabled by ELMs funding, are more urgent than ever.

DASSH, the UK Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data, has begun an exciting new collaboration with Natural England to support the next phase of development of the Marine Citizen Science Network (MCSN).

Funded through Defra’s Marine and Fisheries Research and Development Programme, the initiative will help shape a stronger and more connected future for marine citizen science across England. Through a programme of stakeholder engagement, workshops and community consultation, DASSH and Natural England will work with citizen science schemes, researchers, policymakers and marine stakeholders to co-design new resources and opportunities that enhance the value and impact of marine citizen science.

A major focus of the project will be the development of a new Marine Citizen Science Hub, creating a central space where projects, volunteers and organisations can access guidance, share experiences and connect with others across the marine citizen science community. Alongside this, a new bursary scheme will provide targeted support to help citizen science initiatives strengthen their activities, improve data quality, enhance participation and increase their contribution to the UK’s marine evidence base.

A new strategy to restore and enhance protection for nature in Northern Ireland has been launched by the agriculture and environment minister.

About 40% of the plants and animals in protected sites across Northern Ireland fall short of meeting the standard for "favourable condition".

And just one of 49 priority habitat types - like ancient and native woodlands, blanket bogs and species-rich grasslands - have favourable status.

First ever good practice guidance for water vole reintroductions and translocations aims to boost recovery of Britain’s fastest declining mammal

Today, 26th October, Britain’s declining water voles have been given a much needed boost as the first comprehensive best-practice guidance for the reintroduction and translocation of water voles across Britain has been published by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and Natural England.

A discarded microwave, a mattress sodden by the rain and even a pile of used syringes. The reality of illegally dumped waste sits before me in a colossal mound next to the side of a motorway.

For the team I'm with, this is a jigsaw waiting to be pieced together and solved as they try to identify the criminal culprits.

It does not take long for Anthony Horan and Ashley Hanley from North East Lincolnshire Council to find answers within the mountain of waste on the side of the Brocklesby Interchange near Grimsby.

UK Government recognises The Rothbury Estate as one of most significant opportunities for nature recovery in England at COP17

A £1.94 million pledge from the UK Government has provided a welcome boost to The Wildlife Trusts’ bid to purchase The Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. The grant was announced yesterday at the UN Global Biodiversity Conference, COP17, taking place in Armenia.

Together with a £5 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as several other transformational donations from funders, anonymous philanthropists and members of the public, the grant from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is one of the largest received during the two-year fundraising appeal. It joins over £17 million donated by individuals since the campaign began.

A nature reserve has said the wildlife "will never really be the same again" after a huge wildfire almost three months ago.

The blaze, which broke out on 29 July, started on the edge of RSPB Minsmere before it spread to neighbouring Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast.

Firefighters have been unable to determine the cause.

Ian Barthorpe, visitor experience officer at Minsmere, said the team was concerned about the long-term implications the fire.

A city could become the latest in the UK to debut "bee bus stops" that aim to boost biodiversity in urban areas.

Peterborough City Council said 34 bus stops could include Living Roofs - mini-gardens planted on top of bus shelters made up of wildflowers and other vegetation.

The initiative was included in its new plan for the city's bus stops, which will also see "comfortable seating" replace existing perch seats, according to a report by the authority.

Campaigners have gathered on a beach to protest about water quality.

Surfers Against Sewage said that in 2025 Exmouth's sea was affected by sewage pollution for 111 days and to reflect that campaigners brought 111 giant poo shaped cut-outs to the protest on Sunday.

Nicky Nicholls, community lead at Sideshore hub in Exmouth, Devon, said: "All around the country people are calling on their MPs to focus on the Clean Water Bill, external that is going through Parliament."

A rare bee which has never previously been recorded in Somerset has been discovered on saltmarsh near Bridgwater.

The sea aster mining bee has been found at WWT Steart Marshes and Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve, in an "exciting" discovery that conservationists say demonstrates the rich benefits of restoring saltmarsh habitat.

The small, solitary bee depends on the sea aster plant for food, and is usually only found on the south and east coasts of the UK.

The UK Government has announced £25m in funding for peatland restoration, with a new grant scheme expected to run from April 2027 to April 2029.

The Environment Secretary announced the funding at the UK’s first wildfire summit, as part of a wider package of measures to address the impacts of climate change.

Restored peatlands can help regulate water flows during periods of heavy rainfall and drought, improve water quality and store carbon. Their ability to retain water also makes them an important part of efforts to manage flood risk and strengthen landscape resilience as weather patterns become more extreme.

A software developer became so frustrated by the amount of rubbish he saw dumped along roadsides that he built an AI-powered "litter dashcam" to expose the scale of the problem.

Robin Bennett, from Shrewsbury, developed the Roadside Litter app after noticing what he believed was a growing amount of litter while driving around the county.

The technology has already logged more than 3,000 litter reports in Shropshire and more than 28,000 across the UK.

More than £1m is to be spent on nature recovery projects, including the restoration of habitats destroyed by a fire which ripped through a huge area of hillside in the Cairngorms.

The Scottish government funding will support habitat, species and river restoration, control of invasive non-native species and deer management across Scotland.

It includes £150,100 for recovery and nature restoration work following the Abernethy wildfire in the Cairngorms in July, to restore damaged habitats, help wildlife recover and reduce the risk of future wildfires.