Environment Agency drones are being deployed more aggressively against organised fly-tipping, with a 33-strong pilot squad logging 272 flight hours since July and preparing to carry light detection and ranging (LiDAR) payloads for high-resolution volumetric mapping of illegal waste sites. Moving LiDAR from manned aircraft to UAVs is intended to give prosecutors precise 3D evidence of waste locations and extents, while a new screening tool cross-checks lorry licence applications against waste permit records to flag suspect operators. Enforcement capacity has been boosted with the joint waste crime unit expanded from 13 to 20 staff, supporting 751 illegal sites shut and 221 prosecutions since March 2025 under a £15.6m enforcement budget.

An ultrasonic acoustic fish deterrent designed for EDF’s Hinkley Point C cooling water intakes has proved “highly effective” in Swansea University trials, significantly reducing fish approach rates to the intake zone. The system uses targeted sound frequencies to steer multiple species away from the intake channel, aiming to meet Environment Agency requirements on impingement and entrainment without major changes to the intake structure. Trial results may remove the need for a large compensatory saltmarsh scheme on the Severn Estuary, easing local planning and coastal engineering constraints.

WSP and Mott MacDonald have secured a £25M contract from Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE‑N) to deliver environmental services and permitting support for the proposed small modular reactor (SMR) development at Wylfa on Anglesey. The consultancies will lead environmental impact assessment, regulatory interface and consents strategy for the multi‑unit SMR site, a former nuclear location with complex coastal, seismic and ecological constraints. Early permitting work will be critical for geotechnical investigations, marine works and long‑lead nuclear island foundations once a reactor technology is selected.