Growers urged to have their say on water abstraction
© Tim Scrivener Time is running out for growers to voice concerns over government plans to scrap water abstraction licences, the NFU has warned.
The proposals, included in a consultation which ends on 22 December, would transfer existing water resources legislation into the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR).
This means abstraction licences would be issued as permits, from a date yet to be set but possibly as early as 2023.
See also: Government to streamline water abstraction licence regime
The NFU warned that enforcement and compliance of the EPR regime would add to the administrative burden on growers and increase their business costs.
In addition, it said the move undermined the certainty of rights to abstract water.
That is because under the proposals all permits will be reviewable by the Environment Agency and could be removed without any form of compensation.
Growers also faced the erosion of historic rights to abstract water, the NFU said.
Constraints
An NFU spokesman said: “Our concerns are that the government proposals would lead to additional constraints in the abstraction of water for food production, reduce security around access to water, and add to the administrative burden.
“The NFU is concerned that the move to EPR will be more expensive for farmers, with the administration costs of periodic permit review likely being passed on to permit-holders.
“This is in combination with the Environment Act, which will from 2028 allow for the Defra secretary to have powers to revoke or vary abstraction licences without compensation.”
The union called on growers to use the consultation to explain how these changes would affect their businesses.
The NFU also set out how the transfer from licence to permit would work in practice.
- Existing licence holders would initially be switched to become operators from whatever date is ultimately specified, and would be granted transitional permits.
- Conditions in the licence would remain the same and there would be no re-issue of any documents as part of the move.
- Paper licences would continue to be the relevant legal document until the agreement expired, and thereafter would gradually migrate into EPR and become full permits.
The consultation applies to abstraction in England only, but similar provisions are being developed in Wales.
Modernising the abstraction service is a key aspect of the joint Defra and EA 2017 Water Abstraction Plan. This sets out planned reforms for water abstraction management over the coming years and how these will contribute to the delivery of the goal in the government’s 25-year Environment Plan for clean and plentiful water.
AHDB deadline looms
Farmers and growers have also been urged not to miss out on their chance to influence the future of the AHDB.
A shake-up in the way the AHDB operates and the services it provides is under way, with levy payers invited to share their views in a Defra consultation launched on Wednesday 17 November.
The consultation period, which is just seven weeks long, paves the way for five-yearly levy payer votes in the cereals, dairy and livestock sectors on how their money is spent.
The first vote would be held in the spring of 2022.
How to take part
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