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Back to Bentham: What next for the people of Bentham still waiting for answers?
Almost four months ago, ITV released their documentary on high PFAS levels in the blood of some Bentham residents. Bentham, once dubbed ‘the most PFAS polluted town in the UK, has been in the spotlight for several years now, as investigations revealed incredibly high levels of PFAS chemicals in the groundwater of their wastewater lagoons.
Angus Fire did not respond directly to this investigation at the time, but have provided community information to Bentham Town Council in April saying, ‘Angus Fire recognises the importance of the PFAS issue to the local community. We do not believe, however, that the documentary presented an accurate reflection of the situation in Bentham. In particular, it was disappointing that anecdotal accounts and speculation were broadcast as fact by ITV and that material known to producers to be out of date and incorrect, was presented.’ They continued in this tone, stating, ‘We believe that any public communications on the matter must be grounded in established facts and objective science. We are all aware that idle speculation can result in unnecessary worry, which is why Angus Fire has been clear in taking a science-led approach to our communication with all stakeholders…’
Council says no proven cancer link has been established
The North Yorkshire Council website has given more information about the potential public health harm of PFAS contamination stating, ‘There is currently no evidence that cancer rates for High Bentham, which are above the national average, may be connected to PFAS. While the number of people with cancer registered at Bentham Medical Practice, and the number of new cancer diagnoses per year, is higher than the England average according to national data, this does not take into account the age profile of people living in Bentham, which is older than the national average.’
It did caveat this lack of direct evidence again, when it noted, ‘Looking at cancer rates alone cannot identify why cases may be increased or decreased, and the rates of cancer shown on this page refer to all cancers, not just those potentially related to PFAS, which could demonstrate a different pattern. ‘
Environment Agency approves PFAS treatment permit
Angus Fire has now been granted a permit variation from the Environment Agency for an effluent treatment plant to reduce the PFAS in the collected rainwater of an estimated 7,500,000 litres, as well as future rainwater which falls onto the site. The Environment Agency information continues, ‘Angus Fire has been collecting this rainwater so it can be treated to reduce the PFAS substances. Once treated at the effluent plant, the rainwater will be discharged to the River Wenning. The level of PFAS remaining in the treated rainwater discharged into the river will be in line with levels currently accepted as best practice for PFAS treatment processes. The operator no longer manufactures firefighting foam at its High Bentham site. The application is to treat rainwater to reduce PFAS chemicals from the site’s previous manufacturing processes.’
However, campaigners from Cleaner Bentham remain unsatisfied with the levels of transparency and rigour which they perceive coming from the Environment Agency. Mat Young of Cleaner Bentham told me, ‘Angus has been given their permit, however we believe this was given prematurely and are looking into whether the Environment Agency/Angus’s conducted tests on the 48 chemicals required by the DWI were tested for.’ He highlighted that the River Lune was a protected drinking water source and had concerns about whether the Environment Agency had bowed to external pressure. He added, ‘The Environment agency is not willing to sit with residents and Bentham Town Council in an MDC committee and have not responded to another public meeting request with the residents.’
Calls for greater transparency over scientific reports
Bentham Town Council have recently actioned a request for the report conducted by Dr P Byrne of Liverpool John Moor University, which was completed in December 2025, which is believed to be held by Angus Fire and referenced by them in April 2026. Mat Young also highlighted the slow process taken by Angus Fire in revealing pertinent information, noting the ‘ongoing’ nature of their investigations, which were first revealed in May 2024.
‘Our independent environmental consultants have conducted investigative work of the soil and groundwater at the Bentham site. This work is ongoing but already shows that PFAS has contaminated soil in six localised areas on the site, with the majority contained within the top two metres of soil. ‘
Further site investigations continue
Angus Fire repeated their pledge to continue investigatory work on legacy PFAS on the site when they noted on their community microsite in June 2026; ‘independent consultants and their specialist contractors are conducting extensive deeper drilling and soil investigations across the site. This work has been underway for the past five weeks and will continue for at least another week.
Additional deep groundwater investigations will follow in July and August, with all samples sent to a third-party laboratory for PFAS testing and analysis. The new boreholes will be capped and used as monitoring wells for future sampling…Once completed, independent consultants will present their investigative findings together with their proposals for any additional corrective actions and/or remediation to the Environment Agency and other UK regulatory bodies.’
At least another month of ‘logistically challenging’ investigation work still to be completed by Angus Fire before the samples are sent to a third-party, who will need time themselves to analyse and evaluate the samples. All this time, the people of Bentham are still waiting for answers on the extent of the PFAS contamination of their town.
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New analysis suggests up to 90% of untreated sewage discharges could be illegal
Sewage in Yorkshire A major new analysis by sewage pollution expert Peter Hammond has found that between 80% and 90% of untreated sewage discharge across Britain is non-compliant with the Environment Agency’s own “heavy rainfall” methodology.
The report, published by Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), analysed 482 storm overflows serving the equivalent of 39.3 million people across England, Scotland and Wales.
It concludes that the overwhelming majority of untreated sewage discharges would fail the Environment Agency’s own test for determining whether spills occurred during genuinely exceptional rainfall. It used a methodology and test which defined the level of rainfall necessary for a spill to be considered lawful and found widespread non-compliance across every major water company.
Current regulatory assessments largely rely on identifying “dry day spills”, where sewage is discharged after little or no rainfall. However, the report argues this approach captures only a small proportion of unlawful spills.
Peter Hammond, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution said, “The Environment Agency successfully relied upon this methodology during the Southern Water prosecution, where it was accepted by the court as a robust way of determining whether untreated sewage discharges were lawful. If it is robust enough to prosecute one water company, it should be applied consistently across the entire industry.”
As Ofwat has previously cited WASP’s illegal sewage discharge analysis in 5 of 7 enforcement actions against water companies in 2025 and 2026, this new report appears to meet the same rigorous standards as before.
The report highlighted the failings of Thames Water particularly, stating, ‘All spills from 18 Thames Water sewage treatment works serving 7 million people were found to be non-compliant in 2025.
Across 64 Thames Water treatment works serving approximately 16 million people, noncompliance reached 95.5%.’
On a wider national scale, the report found that failings were not limited to Thames Water alone, but that ‘Between 80% and 90% of annual untreated sewage discharge hours analysed were noncompliant in 2024 and 2025 across all water companies.’
Thames Water has come under the spotlight lately, as 10 million customers face a hosepipe ban, while senior managers have received increased bonus payments of over £4 million. This comes at the same time as the company faces nationalisation and indeed has attempted to offer the government a ‘golden share’ to try and reduce this risk. Hosepipe bans are increasing around the country, while water companies and parent companies profit.
‘Profiting from the proceeds of crime’
Ash Smith, Founder, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, while continuing to push for increased numbers for the petition for nationalisation of water companies, was scathing in his view of the water industry.
“It is clear that the water industry is profiting from the proceeds of crime – criminal pollution is demonstrably deeply and profitably embedded in its business model and this new report to the Secretary of State warrants an investigation that goes way beyond just holding the water companies accountable but also scrutiny of the Environment Agency and Defra, both of which appear to have been essential partners in allowing this behaviour to flourish nationally.”
National findings
These findings were not just limited to water companies in England. ‘In 2024, the non-compliance of 64 overflows analysed in Wales was similar to that in England.’ Scotland also did not escape scrutiny, ‘Non-compliance for Scottish Water (26 STWs; 2 CSOs) and 8 PFI operated STWs, serving 3 million, was 87% in 2024 across all 36 overflows and 88% in 2025 for Scottish Water.’
With systemic non-compliance of water companies, the report also analysed areas of the country known for differing amounts of rainfall, to examine if there were any grounds for legally permitted spills.
Lake Windermere: ‘An open sewer for too long.’
Lake Windermere Lake Windermere in the Lake District was acknowledged as being an area of high rainfall and it was noted that the rates of non-compliance there may be lower, but more persistent and substantial.
The dogged Save Windermere campaigner, Matt Staniek also commented that shareholders profits of water companies were prioritised over water health when he said,
“Windermere has been treated as an open sewer for far too long. England’s greatest natural asset has been repeatedly polluted while United Utilities prioritised shareholder returns over the long-term protection of the jewel in the crown of the Lake District National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. This report lays bare the scale of that failure.”
This report today adds fuel to the national debate around the ownership of the water industry with campaigners stating this represents a sector that is out of control, using illegal pollution to cover the tracks of underinvestment and the wrongful diversion of billpayers’ cash to shareholders.
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Human-caused climate change driving global coral bleaching events
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bleached_colony_of_Acropora_coral.jpg Human-caused climate change, not El Niño, is the driving force behind all global coral bleaching events, argues new research published today in Oceanography.
Over the past 40 years, the Climate Central- led paper found that human-caused climate change has been the main driver of coral bleaching risk.
The paper argued, ‘Four global mass coral bleaching events have now been recorded…
All these events also coincided with El Niños for at least part of the period. While El Niño is an important factor, each event has also
occurred during a period of rising global temperatures. Here, we use attribution of daily sea surface temperatures to show that the most recent global coral bleaching event is entirely due to human-caused warming.’
It further suggested that all global mass coral bleaching events of 1998, 2010,2015-2017, and 2018-2025 also had strong fingerprints of anthropogenic climate change.
‘Our analysis shows that global warming is the main driver of bleaching and that global coral bleaching simply would not occur without human-caused climate.’
Information released from Climate Central today was clear on the climate change influence on coral bleaching risk. ‘[F]ossil fuel-driven ocean heat is the fundamental force behind bleaching and coral mortality.’
Although coral reefs were praised in the report for their variety in different regions around the world, this simply emphasised the linked impacts of the destruction of the ecosystem.
‘Coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystems, housing approximately 32% of all named marine species.’
Threats to communities increase
Dr. Andrew Pershing, the paper’s lead author, spoke about the human impacts of coral loss, including threats to food security, economic losses tied to tourism, and the loss of a natural barrier that helps protect coastal communities from flooding and storm surge, when he commented,
“Our study shows that without climate change, coral bleaching would be a rare and isolated event, and global mass coral bleaching simply would not occur. Millions of people and entire countries rely on healthy coral reefs for livelihoods and food security. But our emissions of carbon pollution are causing increasingly widespread damage and death to these vital and vibrant ecosystems. Without immediate emissions reduction, coral reefs as we know them will disappear.”
Species and ecosystem loss
The analysis in the report was based on 100 ecoregions from the Marine Ecoregions of the world database but also bluntly warned of species loss and transformed ecosystems. ‘The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has documented that 1,008 species have gone extinct since 1600, most due to human activities (IUCN, 2025). Continued emissions and additional warming raise the potential that human actions may soon eliminate coral reef ecosystems as we know them from the planet.’
Extremes not averages
The warming ocean temperatures are raising concerns about the health of The Great Barrier Reef. In the publication ‘Oceangraphic’, on 21st July, warnings were given about the ‘very high risk of extreme and widespread bleaching and “ecosystem collapse’ to The Great Barrier Reef.
Localised temperatures rather than global averages were focused on as being crucial by UNSW Professor Alex Sen Gupta, an expert in marine heatwaves. He warned, ‘While the high global average gives us a very broad picture, a coral really only cares about the temperature at its own reef.’ He raised concerns about the perception between coral cover and the health of the coral community, saying, ‘The headline figure can be high coral cover, while the underlying coral community itself has degraded substantially.’70-90% coral extinction by 2050?
Scientists have already warned that 70% to 90% of coral reefs could be functionally extinct by 2050.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that even a 1.5° C increase will lead to a 70% to 90% decline, while a 2.0° C rise would result in a 99% decline in global reef systems.
With the current global average temperature at 1.3-1.4°C above pre-industrial levels, we could be entering a world where global mass bleaching of corals will happen and humans will be responsible.
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Dangerously high levels of pollution found in ‘Robin Hood’ river
Aysgarth Falls The Aysgarth waterfalls in the River Ure, Yorkshire, made famous in Kevin Costner’s ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ film, are now sadly becoming infamous owing to consistently high levels of pollution.
Dangerously high levels of the bacterium which causes Legionnaire’s disease were found at Hawes- deep in the Yorkshire Dales- recently, when a comparison study for the campaign group Stop Ure Pollution (SUP) was carried out on the Rivers Ure, Wye and Thames.
Another bacterium found at Hawes was described as a serious pathogen by the UK based biotechnology company, Molendotech, which carried out the comparison. The company analysed water samples from two sites on the River Thames, one on the River Wye and one on the River Ure using environmental DNA (eDNA) testing. Only those from the Ure were described by the company as of the highest clinical concern.
A wake-up call is needed
Richard Loukota, Chairman of Stop Ure Pollution, said: ‘The [test] results should be a wake-up call. The River Ure has performed worse than the River Wye, which is widely regarded as one of Britain’s most environmentally damaged rivers, and worse than the Thames despite its far larger population.
‘It is time for every organisation with direct or indirect responsibility for the river; the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, farmers, agricultural contractors, landowners and Local Authorities to acknowledge the scale of the problem and work together to stop pollutants entering the river.’
And SUP’s vice chairman Toby Milbank commented: ‘The Environment Agency’s “advice-led” approach has run its course and has been largely ineffective in protecting England’s rivers. The Farming Rules for Water must be properly enforced, illegal slurry spreading of organic manures is a criminal offence but the number of prosecutions in the River Wye catchment, Thames and the River Ure Catchment combined, is currently zero.
In addition, 1,797 sewage overflow events should never be regarded as acceptable. Only by tackling agricultural runoff, improving sewage treatment infrastructure and restoring natural river buffer zones will we begin to return the River Ure to good ecological health.’
The River Wye has become the national symbol of river decline after years of ecological damage caused primarily by agricultural runoff and sewage pollution. Yet the River Ure sample contained E. coli levels of 3,700 CFU/100mL—almost twice those recorded in the River Wye and more than five times the level found at Henley on the River Thames, despite the Thames serving a vastly larger population.
The River Ure sample also contained elevated levels of Legionella pneumophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, together with extremely high enterococci counts, all recognised indicators of significant faecal contamination and poor water quality. The findings reinforce Stop Ure Pollution’s weekly monitoring at Aysgarth Falls and Ulshaw Bridge.
Campaigners believe that the evidence points towards a combination of diffuse agricultural pollution, particularly slurry and manure entering watercourses, together with untreated sewage released from wastewater treatment works and storm overflows. During the winter, volunteers recorded and reported 192 acres of alleged illegal slurry spreading to the Environment Agency, while Yorkshire Water’s 18 sewage treatment works in the River Ure catchment recorded 1,797 sewage overflow events lasting a combined 4,215 hours during 2025, combined, this is a total of over 175 days of untreated sewage entering the River Ure.
Sewage in the River Ure ‘Persistent, concerning’ levels of pollution
These findings come at the end of a torrid year for pollution in the River Ure.
Stop Ure Pollution campaigners have completed a full year of weekly water quality monitoring at Aysgarth Falls on the River Ure, revealing persistent and concerning levels of bacterial pollution at one of Yorkshire’s most popular inland bathing locations.
Between June 2025 and June 2026, volunteers carried out weekly testing using the Bactiquick bacterial endotoxin testing system, producing what is believed to be one of the most comprehensive independent datasets collected on the River Ure. The results indicate that almost nine out of every ten weekly samples (88.2%) fell into the “High Risk” category, with only 2.9% of samples indicating low risk.
Stop Ure Pollution is now urging swimmers, paddleboarders, kayakers, canoeists, anglers, dog walkers and anyone entering the river to exercise caution, by using signs like the one below.
A river under continual pressure
Early evidence suggests that the most likely causes of the bacterial pollution are a combination of diffuse agricultural pollution from organic manures, slurry and farmyard manure, together with contamination arising from untreated sewage discharges from waste treatment works.
During the 2025/26 winter spreading season SUP volunteers recorded and reported to the Environment Agency what appeared to be illegal slurry spreading on 192 acres of farmland. It is illegal to spread slurry on waterlogged, frozen ground, within 10 metres of a watercourse, or without agronomic justification. The organisation says the Environment Agency has indicated it is preparing for further monitoring and enforcement activity during the coming winter.
Richard Loukota, Chairman of Stop Ure Pollution, concluded,
“After testing the River Ure weekly for the past year at two locations, the extent of the pollution has become abundantly clear. These are not isolated incidents or one-off pollution events—they point towards a river under continual pressure from multiple sources. We believe the long-term solution is equally clear. Illegal slurry spreading must be eliminated through a combination of common sense backed up by stronger monitoring and enforcement. Yorkshire Water must continue investing in its sewage treatment infrastructure to reduce spills. Farmers should be supported in fencing livestock away from riverbanks and establishing wide natural buffer strips that filter pollutants before they reach the river.
“Only by tackling agricultural runoff and sewage pollution together will we begin to restore the River Ure to the healthy river that local communities, wildlife and visitors deserve.”The River Ure and the Aysgarth Falls, instead of being a tourist attraction, may run the risk of being known as a pollution hot-spot and to be avoided, negatively impacting the local economy, reliant on tourism.
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Outrage from Leeds residents as planning is approved for new Microsoft Datacentres
Proposed site Almost 7,000 people have now signed a petition against a Microsoft datacentre in Leeds.
The petition states that ‘This proposed megasite, which has already been given conditional planning approval, would consist of giant warehouses full of tens of thousands of AI computer chips running constantlyto power Microsoft’s AI systems.
There is overwhelming evidence that this site would pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of local residents, and the surrounding environment.’
The petition also argues that, ‘Cooling the chips would require thousands of litres of water every time the outside temperatures rise above 29 degrees – which will happen increasingly often as the climate crisis accelerates, particularly as datacentres contribute to the climate crisis.’
‘Fatally flawed’
The Guardian newspaper today reported that the UK will not have enough water for future datacentres, quoting a Water UK briefing report which described Government targets as being ‘fatally flawed’ for: assuming that business water demand will fall; for a lack of understanding that water companies are being required to plan on the basis of demand and leakage targets not forecasts; misjudgements about the balance of risk and infrastructure needs and a lack of information on data centre water use.
The briefing was stark in its analysis when it noted, ‘Current estimates suggest that data centres’ water use globally is likely to more than double by 2050 from 2025 levels.’
Furthermore, the briefing highlighted that, ‘Data centres currently use approximately 6.6 million litres of water per day. It is equivalent to the water used by 20,000 average homes. With the government’s ambition to treble data centre capacity by 2030, this could increase to 19.8 million litres, equivalent to 60,000 homes.’
Lianne Marie Mease, lead representative of the No Leeds Datacentres campaign said,
“A development which proposes such significant impacts to Leeds and the surrounding areas should have a proportional approach to community consultation. Putting up developer signs outside a power station which has been decommissioned since 1994 simply isn’t good enough.”
The campaign group is concerned that the planning decision reflects insufficient scrutiny of the project’s impacts on
– water and power consumption
– noise, light and air pollution
– disposal of foul water and waste heat
– surveillance and security changes
– climate change.
Communities are being drowned out
Owen Espley, Campaign Manager at Global Action Plan commented:“The UK Government is letting Big Tech build more and more of its resource-hungry data centres up and down the country, contradicting community wishes and putting local people at risk of power cuts and droughts.”
He continued, “Communities are fighting to have their concerns about AI data centres heard but are being drowned out by Big Tech lobbyists who hold the ear of government.
The government must act urgently to put the brakes on AI data centre expansion by joining a growing number of global cities in declaring a moratorium on new AI data centres until ministers can produce a credible plan for how many we need, where and what for, and how environmental and social harm will be addressed.” -
Almost 3,000 excess deaths estimated in England and Wales during recent heatwaves
Public protecting themselves against the direct sun
A new combined report from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine estimated that more than 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in the recent May and June heatwaves. The report states that almost half of these (42%) died as ‘a result of the extra heat caused by human-induced warming.’
Researchers estimated that an excess of about 550 people died in the May heatwave, (21-29 May) and about 2,2000 in the June heatwave (18-28 June). The main findings of the report highlight that daytime maximum temperatures are now 3-4°C hotter than they would have been without human-induced climate change, increasing the health risks associated with heatwaves.
These figures come only a few short years after the plus 40°C heat in England in 2022, where approximately 4,507 deaths were estimated to be linked to the heat. Within five years then, an estimated more than 7,000 people in England and Wales have died from heatwave-related deaths, highlighting the magnitude of this ‘silent killer.’
Dr. Clair Barnes, Research Associate in Extreme Weather and Climate Change, Imperial College London, and one of the study authors, said, ‘Every time we have a heatwave, our news is filled with reporters at swimming pools, images of people eating ice cream and sunbathers on beaches. We all love the sun, but people need to be aware that we are now seeing dangerous climate-change fuelled heat that is claiming lives, disrupting schools and hospitals and shutting down transport and infrastructure.’
She continued, ‘It’s time we woke up to the fact that we now live in a country with dangerously hot summers. To protect people during future extremes, we must urgently adapt to the reality of the climate we now have, and double down on global efforts to reach net zero emissions to stop this from getting worse.’
The health-related dangers of heatwaves have not just impacted the UK in recent months.
In France, there has been an estimated 2,700 deaths in the June heatwave, while Germany has recorded an estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths this year, most of them in late June.
How the figures were reached
The authors of the study were at pains to point out that these estimated heatwave deaths were gathered using peer-reviewed methods, using high resolution data on a fine, granular level and would only be confirmed by Government figures in due course. In order to estimate them, they used two scenarios- a factual one of observed records and a ‘counterfactual’ scenario of a 1.4°C cooler world without human-induced climate change. A comparison between these two figures would then give the number of how many more people would have been expected to died in each small area of 1,000 to 3,000 residents.
For the May heatwave, London, the North East, and the East of England had the highest proportion of expected heat-related deaths of 64%, 87% and 70% respectively, while Wales recorded 47% of expected excess heat-related deaths owing to human caused climate change.
For the June heatwave, Wales dropped to 27% of excess heat-related deaths, while London and the North East had 42% and 46% respectively. That is, that almost half of the estimated excess heat-related deaths were owed to human caused climate change.
‘The temperature is the problem’
Recent advice from the World Health Organisation warned that ‘The number of people exposed to extreme heat is growing exponentially due to climate change in all world regions.’ They highlighted the underlying illnesses that can be exacerbated by high temperatures and heat stress, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma. They stated, ‘Heatstroke is a medical emergency with a high-case fatality rate.’ In recent days, other vulnerable groups have been discussed, as the BBC reported a 2025 study which suggested that women in general are more prone to be adversely impacted by heatwaves, owing to hormones and how women’s bodies respond to heat. Pregnant women are also an at risk group owing to difficulties in regulating their temperature. Other vulnerable groups were also highlighted in today’s report, highlighting the national scale of the pressing issue.. ‘In the UK, women, ethnic minorities, people in older age groups and those living in the most deprived areas have an increased risk of deaths during periods of heat.’
The WHO, however, wanted to focus on solutions, as well as identify at-risk groups, and stated, ‘Mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions is imperative and urgent to limit the magnitude of human costs from extreme heat.’
These calls for mitigation and adaption to reduce the number of people at risk, were echoed by the report published today, as Dr. Malcolm Mistry, Assistant Professor in Climate and Geo-spatial Modelling, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) said, ‘It is vital that action on adapting Britain’s homes, workplaces, and critical infrastructure to extreme heat outpaces these health risks, especially if we are to protect those most vulnerable to its impacts, such as older people, babies, and children.’
He added ominously that, ‘We are still in the first half of summer in the UK and large parts of England and Wales have already experienced two record-breaking heatwaves, in May and June, triggering extreme heat-health alerts across England. With climate change driven by human activity making summer heatwaves more frequent and more intense, these spikes of extreme hot weather are rapidly evolving into a major health risk for people in the UK.’
Is the UK prepared for extreme temperatures?
In the released statement, Dr. Mark McCarthy, Manager of Climate Attribution at the Met Office noted that, ‘2026 has been exceptional for the two early season heatwaves in May and June. These have smashed records that had stood from May 1944 and June 1976 respectively. For the time of year these events were extreme, even in our warmer climate.’
He highlighted that these exceptional tempeatures are not going away anytime soon and will leading to more frequent and more intense summer heatwaves. ‘However, it is clear that human-caused climate change is leading to more frequent and more intense summer heatwaves. This intensification is driving many impacts, including those affecting human health and mortality and other issues, such as agriculture, effects on transport infrastructure and biodiversity.’
Wildfire near York July 2026- Robert Austin ‘Extreme heat is here’
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, drew attention to these intense temperatures when he posted on social media to launch a city heat plan, saying, ‘Extreme heat is here – and it’s a fixture of London’s future. That’s why we’ve launched Heat Ready London. It’s London’s first-ever city heat plan to help stop homes overheating, keep communities cool and save lives as we adapt to our new reality.’
Professor Lea Berrang Ford, Head of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Centre for Climate and Health Security (CCHS), warned about future heatwaves in the UK and the risks that would be increased without adaption and preparedness.
‘These modelled estimates are based on past trends in temperature effects on mortality and provide an important indication of the potential health impacts of sustained hot weather, particularly for the most vulnerable among us. While they are not a measure of observed mortality, they help illustrate the scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing. As set out in our most recent Health Effects of Climate Change report, periods of heat in the UK are likely to become more intense, longer and more frequent as the world continues to warm.’
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Whistleblower Reveals Hundreds of Pollution Incidents in Yorkshire River Catchment
Campaigners, MPs and members of the public gathered together in Leeds for a special screening of Channel 4’s ‘Dirty Business’ followed by a live Q&A with the central whistleblower, Rob Forrester, as well as Mark Barrow, whose specialised underwater photography featured in the programme.
Kirsty Tucker, lead for Plastic Free North West Leeds (Surfers Against Sewage) and organiser of today’s event, has spent the past seven years campaigning to reduce the pollution in Yorkshire rivers, especially the River Aire. The Aire has been ranked the 5th most polluted river in the UK, with 3,112 sewage discharges recorded in 2025 alone- lasting a total of 17,636 hours.
Tucker commented, ‘The River Aire is effectively being treated like an open sewer. Thousands of hours of raw sewage entering our waterways is unacceptable and communities across Leeds and Bradford are demanding urgent action. We ask that they examine public ownership, they actually enforce the law and finally give the public a say on the future of how water companies operate.’
She added, ‘Our Group Plastic Free North West Leeds recently joined forces with many other clean river campaigners under The Sewage Campaign Network. I was part of the mass lobby event at Westminster on 17th March where we received support from 117 MPs to nationalise water.’
Pollution of Yorkshire’s waters continues
Despite the media attention and campaigning on cleaner standards and water companies being more accountable, pollution continues unabated.
Rob Forrester revealed today that over the past decade, almost 800 pollution incidents have taken place in the River Wharfe catchment, another Yorkshire river, with 4 of these being recorded as Category 1- the most serious, having a major impact on the water environment. 13 incidents were recorded as Category 2- a significant impact on the water environment.
269 incidents were recorded at Category 3- a minor impact and 63 at Category 4.
These numbers, however, only tell half the story.
Forrester revealed that from 2017-2026, a total of 160 water pollution incidents in the River Wharfe catchment could be recorded as Yorkshire Water named as the source- with three Category 2 (significant impact) events. He then informed the attendees that there were 20 water pollution incidents attended to in the River Wharfe catchment where Yorkshire Water was named.
A lack of enforcement and sanction
In summary then, Forrester’s Freedom of Information requests indicate that in the last decade there were 790 total pollution incidents recorded in the River Wharfe catchment. Of these 160 incidents were associated with Yorkshire Water. Only 20 were attended by the Environment Agency, concluding that the overall attendance rate from the Environment Agency was 13%.
From 160 water pollution events associated with Yorkshire Water, only 1 event resulted in a fine of a charity payment of £200,000.
In the fiscal year ending 31 March, 2025, Yorkshire Water’s parent company reported a pre-tax profit of £113.8 million alongside an operating profit of £464.2 million.
72% increase in pollution events
Yorkshire Water now faces being downgraded to a one star rating by the Environment Agency after a series of failures, such as rising pollution, missed environmental projects and declining customer satisfaction. Their financial report highlighted the 72% increase in reportable events and described this performance as one in which they were ‘extremely unhappy.’
‘We recorded 49.75 total pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer length (260 incidents in total), which is a 72% increase in reportable pollution events compared to 2024, a performance we are extremely unhappy with.’
Guest speaker and underwater photographer, Mark Barrow, told me, ‘In 2026, things are no better as I’m still filming areas where there is more sewage litter than fish. As for the future, I have no faith in any party. I keep hearing the usual spiel of cleaning up the rivers but with very little action. Actions speak louder than words, but honestly, I won’t hold my breath, but I do hope I am proved wrong.
My ultimate goal is for rivers to be restored back to how nature intended them so that they not only thrive but flourish. Even now, so many are unaware of the life that lives within these watery wildlife corridors.’
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Ripon Repair Café: One Year On and Still Going Strong.
Repair culture proving popular against rising consumerism
Ripon Repair Café opened its doors once again this Saturday (11th July) to mark the first anniversary of beginning their repair journey in 2025.
Sue Griffin, an organiser for the local repair team said, ‘In the first year of the repair café, we have saved a lot of items from landfill and also importantly helped people to hold onto treasured items that it would otherwise be very difficult to have repaired.’ They continued ‘We have seen 195 items and have repaired 111 items. We manage to repair 59% of the items that come to us and sometimes we are able to direct people to other places where they may be able to get things repaired.’
This internal repair rate of 59% is truly remarkable and a real testament to the army of volunteers and repairers who use their skills to lovingly bring items back to life. Griffin added, ‘There has been a real sense of purpose and camaraderie among the Repair café team. We are like minded people working to make this a success and to help people keep their things and to reduce waste in society. We all enjoy what we do and hope to continue this for many more years.’
National growth of repair cafés
There are now approximately 800 repair cafés in the UK, with the list increasing every year. This is a real testament to the growth of the popularity of refusing to throw out household items and instead seeking free repairs as an alternative. At the end of March this year, the third annual Parliamentary Repair Café took place at the House of Commons. Over 100 community groups and 90 MPs gathered to advocate for a UK “Right to Repair” and promote the government’s upcoming Circular Economy. The UK Repair and Reuse Declaration, which calls for a circular economy, was signed during the event by dozens of MPs. ‘Repair and reuse are central to achieving a truly circular, less wasteful economy. They help to tackle climate change and achieve our net zero ambition, reducing living costs for UK households and create green skilled jobs.’
The Declaration continued to focus on the need to move away from single-use goods and strongly pointed the finger at manufacturers who used ‘planned obsolescence’ to maximise profits. ‘Together we are responding to increasing public demand for repair services and skills, we’re advocating for a return to a strong UK fixing economy and we’re championing reuse to give products a second life. We are working towards the future we all need- a future where repair is a thriving sector of our economy. Where products are designed to be durable and easily reparable by default and in which manufacturers actively support their products for as long as possible.’
Information released last year by the National Lottery Community Fund suggested that brand new clothing is regularly binned by UK consumers, for simple reasons such as a missing button, as they lack the repair skills needed to restore them.
‘An estimated 1.4 billion items of clothing are thrown away by UK adults each year according to new research. This is concerning as the fashion industry is one of the most polluting sectors and uses vast amounts of water – 215 trillion litres annually, equivalent to 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools and relies on thousands of chemicals, many of them harmful.
Reasons for binning clothes included lack of skills to repair or alter them – more than a quarter lack confidence in basic sewing such as putting on a button and 44% aren’t confident stitching up a hem. Community repair cafés and groups such as those funded by The National Lottery Community Fund can help to cut clothes waste, save money and connect communities, boosting both sustainability and mental health.’
Repairing items- building communities
Back in Ripon, North Yorkshire, these skills have not been forgotten. The Mayor of Ripon, Andrew Williams, praised the efforts of volunteers, repairers and the organising team when he said, ‘I’m delighted that the café is celebrating its first birthday. It’s great that we are able, through a group of volunteers, to see items that would otherwise be going into landfill, actually being brought back into purposeful life, which is great. It is also helpful that in a cost of living crisis that people who are struggling with their household budgets are managing to get items repaired, which they wouldn’t otherwise have got repaired and I think that’s very helpful as well.’
He continued, ‘I think that this is clearly part of the growing supportive community that exists around Ripon where people are volunteering and working together and building a stronger, brighter community, which is what we all want to see.’
With a range of items suitable for repair, from bikes, clocks, watches, computers, electrical items, leather items, household items, jewelry and even a chandelier, it is easy to see the value of local communities working together to bring together expertise to repair loved items. A small ancient seal for the Mary Magdalen Leper Chapel was also an item that was looked at the repair café, with the hope of a 3D copy being made for the Heritage Open Day.
With this strong and successful first year behind them, it can easily be imagined that Ripon Repair Café will now be a permanent fixture in the city and continue to grow and thrive.
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Fossil fuel emissions have worsened European heatwaves
Climate change unequivocally to blame for record-shattering European heatwave
The extreme June heat currently breaking records across Western Europe would have been impossible just a few decades ago according to a rapid attribution analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA).
WWA scientists used both observed and forecast temperature data to analyse the hottest three-day period across a large area of Europe sitting under this ‘heat dome’. They found unequivocally that climate change is the driving force behind the severity of the dangerous heat.
A staggering 45% of cities analysed across 30 European countries have already, or are predicted to, break their highest ever heat stress levels.
The study found that the sweltering overnight temperatures keeping many people awake this week are about 100x more likely today than they were just 23 years ago during the infamous 2003 European heatwave. The daytime peaks are about 10x more likely.
What kind of future do we want?
Professor Friederike Otto, Professor of Climate Science, Imperial College London said: “Scientists like me are beginning to sound like a broken record. We put out similar quotes year after year reacting to heat extremes that climb ever higher. Yes this is climate change, yes it’s us, no it’s not El Nino, yes we have the solutions, no we’re not implementing them fast enough. “It’s really now a question of what kind of future we want for ourselves, and whether we’re willing to do what it takes to secure it.”
One of the study’s authors, Dr. Theodore Keeping, Extreme Weather and Wildfire Researcher, Imperial College London added: “The science of how climate change is worsening heatwaves is settled. Continued fossil-fuel emissions are directly responsible for the disruption people are experiencing this week in their homes, schools and workplaces. “The speed of change is startling. Every few years we are seeing heat records shattered in Europe. This year it has been in consecutive months. In the UK, we are used to ‘snow days’ shutting down schools, but this generation is now growing up with ‘heat days’ as well.”
Impossible now possible
Both the daytime highs and overnight temperatures seen during this heatwave would have been virtually impossible to occur at this time of year as recently as 1976 – just 50 years ago. The report focused on 2003 and 1976, as other years with major heatwave events, and noted that heatwaves led to excess deaths, despite the rose-tinted, romanticised, childhood memories of so many online posters.
‘The 1976 heatwave primarily affected northern Europe (especially the UK) and led to an increase in excess deaths in e.g. Birmingham, England of approximately 20%.’
The 2003 heatwave was described as the first major “wake up call” for Europe on the impacts of climate change, it killed over 72,000 people – with the biggest impacts in Italy and France.
The heatwave is affecting large areas of the continent. In France, red heat alerts have been issued across more than half of the country’s departments, impacting an estimated 39 million people. Authorities report at least 18 heat-related deaths since the weekend, including two children who were left in a hot car. More than 1,350 schools have been closed.
Rare red warnings have been issued across parts of the UK as extreme temperatures threaten to break longstanding June records amid the intense European heatwave. Multiple schools in the UK have closed early, or have not opened at all, in order to help minimise health risks.
Impacts to UK infrastructure
The report reminds us of the serious threat to human health that heatwaves pose and that they have profound impacts on ecosystems, infrastructure systems and daily life.
Network Rail has given advice for rail passengers to only travel if it is absolutely necessary, as the warning extends onto Friday of this week. They warned that, ‘Trains will operate at reduced speeds and to amended timetables, meaning journeys will take longer and there is a heightened risk of delays, cancellations and last-minute alterations. There will be no rail replacement bus services during this period.
We do everything it can to prepare the network throughout the year so that we can keep the railway running in hot weather – using a combination of proactive monitoring and investment in smart technologies, like remote sensors and innovative cooling solutions, to protect critical infrastructure.
But when extreme heat hits – as is true across many areas of the world – the likelihood of disruption increases as the rising temperatures can adversely affect the tracks, power and signalling systems, and ground conditions, leading to rails expanding, overhead lines sagging, and infrastructure potentially failing.’
Jake Kelly, deputy CEO of Network Rail, said: “We know how important it is for people to get where they need to be, but this spell of very hot weather will make journeys more challenging across the network. Very high temperatures – like we are seeing in Great Britain and across parts of Europe – put significant strain on the railway, so our priority is to keep passengers safe while keeping services running.”
He continued, “We’re asking passengers to think carefully about their plans and only travel if it’s absolutely necessary in the areas most affected by the extremely high temperatures that are being recorded.”
Transport for London have also warned passengers about disruption to services as well as the impact of rising rail temperatures. Claire Mann, Transport for London’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Given the red extreme heat warning issued by the met office for parts of the country including London, we have been working closely with other agencies, including Network Rail, the Greater London Authority and others to confirm our hot weather plans.
“Customers should be aware that, given the very high temperatures that are forecast, we are likely to see some disruption to rail and Tube services – with rail temperatures likely to lead to temporary speed restrictions and therefore reduced services in some cases. This will vary by line, with some services that share parts of the over ground rail network – like the Overground and the Elizabeth line – likely to be more affected.
“We encourage customers to think about their comfort and to consider whether their journey is necessary.
‘Government measures are completely inadequate’
Temperatures in the recent heatwave surpassed the previous June record of 35.6°C set in 1976.
During the summer of 2022, more than 60,000 people across Europe died as a result of extreme heat. Even in the following summer, which was significantly cooler, over 47,000 heat-related deaths were recorded. The report noted that a similar heatwave in June would have been about 3.5°C cooler during the day in 1976 and about 2°C cooler in 2003, with a clear warning that due to global warming, these very high temperatures are now expected regularly during the summer months in many capitals in Europe. High humidity and unusually warm overnight conditions are now also limiting the opportunities for relief and increasing health risks for vulnerable groups.
Bill McGuire, Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards, UCL, who warned about these extreme climate conditions in his most recent book ‘The Fate of the World: A History and Future of the Climate Crisis’ said,
“The fact that the roasting conditions across the UK and Europe would not have been possible just 50 years ago, in the absence of global heating, attests to just how rapidly our planet is becoming a blistering hell hole. The reality is that such extreme June temperatures don’t even represent a new normal, but just one small step on the road to summer heat that will make normal life during the months of June, July and August, all but impossible.
Government measures in the UK and across Europe, to mitigate the impact of future heat, are completely inadequate, flagged by the fact that more than 90 percent of UK homes, alongside schools, hospitals and workplaces, are slated to become uninhabitable heat-traps at 40C and above.
There isn’t even a maximum working temperature limit in the UK, putting the health of many thousands of farmers, builders and other outside workers at risk. Preparing for life on an inevitably much hotter world, requires nothing less than placing the country on a war footing, and even then everyday life during the summer months, in the decades ahead, will still be grim.”
Phasing out fossil fuels is critical
The report highlights that at 1.4°C of global warming, extreme heat is already reaching the limits of our societies’ ability to cope. Their analysis indicated that intense heat is increasing rapidly even in living memory, with such events tens to hundreds of times more likely since only 2003 and virtually impossible just 50 years ago. A rapid phase-out of fossil fuels is critical if we are to avoid even higher temperatures and their consequences in the future.
Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary reinforced this point, when he said: “Extreme heat is shattering records across Europe, and the science is very clear about why: climate change is running rampant, caused by the world’s addiction to burning coal, oil and gas. “But the solutions are equally clear: a faster shift to clean energy – which is now much cheaper than fossil fuels – as well as protecting forests and building climate resilience. No nation cannot afford more business-as-usual. We must step up the pace, together.”
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Outrage as 2.7 million chicken mega-farm proposed for quiet North Yorkshire village
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicken_meat_industry.jpg
Plans to build a large chicken factory farm, capable of producing 2.7 million birds each year in the village of Melmerby, near Ripon, are coming under renewed scrutiny from campaigners.
Forest Poultry Ltd have submitted a planning application to erect six poultry housing units, 126 metres in length, to produce approximately 2.7 million birds each year. Each poultry house would accommodate approximately 60,000 birds, resulting in a total capacity of 360,000 birds across the site.
Birds will be delivered to the site as day-old chicks and reared within the poultry houses for approximately 38 days.
Approximately 30% of the birds will be removed at around day 30, with the remaining birds removed at the end of the cycle on days 37 and 38.
The site is expected to operate at approximately 7.5 flock cycles per annum, producing in the region of 2.7 million birds each year- this number would push this factory farm into one the biggest farms in the country.
‘A lifetime of suffering and terrifying death’
The UK branch of the charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have signalled their strong opposition to this proposed mega-farm.
PETA sent a petition to North Yorkshire Council, signed by 18,000 concerned members of the public, including several hundred local people, urging them to reject the plan.
In the petition, PETA pointed out that in addition to causing cruelty to animals on a massive scale, the planned farm would have many negative effects on the local area, including generating enormous quantities of manure and environmental pollutants, such as ammonia.
“Thousands of compassionate people have spoken, and North Yorkshire Council must heed the concerns of its constituents and the general public over animal suffering, the environment, and the health of the community,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “PETA is calling for this plan to be scrapped to spare birds from a lifetime of suffering and a terrifying death.”
PETA’s Vice President of Programmes, Elisa Allen, also added:
‘Packing nearly 360,000 birds into a chicken prison is barbarously cruel, as if the birds were feelingless widgets, and it’s a recipe for pollution on a staggering scale. These vile megafarms poison the air, foul waterways, and damage the countryside, fuelling an environmental crisis that harms communities and the planet.
A vast number of people object, and North Yorkshire Council must listen and reject planning permission, or be damned along with the megafarms.’
The proposed site
Potential health risks?
Jo Lazarus, Campaign Coordinator at Communities Against Factory Farming, said:
“Following a highly successful public meeting, residents of Melmerby and surrounding villages are continuing to voice their opposition to this intensive mega farm. Local people do not want the smells, noise, animal cruelty nor health risks of a factory farm on their doorstep, and are joining together to make sure these disastrous plans do not get off the ground.”
One of these local residents, Chris Lay from Melmerby, added, ‘Between 50 and 60 villagers attended a public meeting in the village hall, and an active Action Group has now been set up to explore many aspects of the planning application. Residents are concerned about air pollution, the impacts of factory farming, animal welfare and what it’s going to do to the local environment. It’s felt that the development of such a large site is totally out of keeping with the rural environment of the area.
“Especially worrying is that the planning application seems to ignore any potential impact on human health and the impact of the vast amount of ammonia that this site will emit. There is good evidence emerging that ammonia contributes to PM2.5 hotspots which are one of the worst forms of pollution for human health as the particles bypass the body’s defences and can lodge deep inside the lungs. Research suggests a causal link between PM2.5 and poor health outcomes. This particular site is next to the A1(M) motorway, and the combination of ammonia and traffic pollution may exacerbate the PM2.5 issue.”
‘Supports high-welfare farming’
On the other hand, supporting comments for the proposal from the National Farmers’ Union are publicly available on the North Yorkshire Planning Portal. The County Adviser for the NFU, perhaps not surprisingly, indicated its support saying, ‘We consider this proposal to be an important and policy-compliant investment that strengthens domestic food production, supports high-welfare farming, and contributes to the resilience of the rural community.’
They further argue that ‘This proposal is supported by robust environmental management measures covering manure handling, odour control, drainage, and biodiversity enhancement.’
However, documents from the Environmental Health suggest that odour and noise statutory nuisances may need more mitigation if residents are not to be impacted.
‘Environmental Health has reviewed the odour and noise assessments with regard to statutory nuisance. While the modelling indicates compliance with recognised benchmarks, statutory nuisance cannot be ruled out, as actual impacts will depend on weather, management and day-to-day operations.’
‘For odour mitigation, the following measures should be secured because they are necessary to minimise odour emissions and protect residential amenity: Using high-speed ridge-mounted fans to provide vertical exhaust and effective dispersion of odorous air. Timing litter clearance, where possible, to coincide with wind directions that carry emissions away from nearby dwellings. Maintaining good biosecurity and husbandry, including managing litter quality and moisture, to reduce odour generation. These measures are required to manage the risk of statutory nuisance and to ensure appropriate protection of nearby residents.’
600 HGV trips in 4 weeks
Local campaigners however have also highlighted transport concerns as part of their protest, alongside the odour nuisance, arguing that the rural setting would become more of an industrial one with the estimated 600 2-way HGV trips within a 4 week period, averaging 150 HGV trips a week. One of the access roads- Underlands Lane is a two-way single carriageway measuring approximately 5m in width and there are concerns about road safety in terms of visibility and damage to the road.
Underlands Lane roadworks on a blind corner
Harry Shepherd, the director of Forest Poultry Ltd, was contacted for comment.
North Yorkshire Council has until 19th August to make a final determination on the proposal.
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Climate Thoughts with Brian 
