The ‘Diffuse Water Pollution Plan - River Wye Special Area of Conservation, November 2025’ document is attached for ease of reference; this is the same version distributed to board members on 24 November 2025.

[Environment Agency]

To receive an update on the DWPP; the Environment Agency has indicated that it will not be possible to provide a copy of the DWPP for this meeting.

[Martin Quine, Environment Agency]

Further to minute 6 of the 16 July 2025 meeting, Diffuse Water Pollution Plan progress report (link), Martin Quine advised that the Diffuse Water Pollution Plan (DWPP) was nearing finalisation.  It was reported that the DWPP had been delayed due to a peer review process and the need to share it with the claimant in a judicial review; no further details of the implications of the latter could be provided in the meeting.  It was anticipated that the DWPP would be available by the time that the contractor was appointed for the catchment management plan.  The board was advised that there would not be a public consultation, but the DWPP would be publicly available.  It was suggested that a separate session to explore the contents of the DWPP could be arranged.

With comments made by board members about the background to the DWPP, assurance was sought about the timeframe; the potential to write to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding was briefly explored.  Martin Quine expected that the DWPP could be shared in the next few weeks. 

The Chairperson noted the position of the Environment Agency but commented on the potential benefits of sharing draft documents openly and collaboratively with key stakeholders.