Welsh Liberal Democrats renew calls for Natural Resources Wales to address the ecological collapse of the River Wye

It comes 12 months after Mid and West Wales Senedd Member Jane Dodds secured £5m for Natural Resources Wales in a budget deal with Welsh Labour,

Jane Dodds has demanded immediate action from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), calling on it to work urgently with the Environment Agency in England to halt the accelerating destruction of the River Wye.

Pollution investigations have been stripped back, while responsibility for cleaning up the damage caused by water companies has increasingly been pushed onto unpaid volunteers.

A promised £35 million action plan from the previous Conservative UK Government never materialised, and the new UK Labour Government has so far failed to replace it. 

The £1 million of joint funding currently offered by the UK and Welsh Governments is nowhere near enough to save one of Britain’s most important rivers.

With crucial revisions to the River Basin Management Plans for the Wye fast approaching, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are warning that without proper funding and genuine cross-border cooperation, the plans risk becoming meaningless.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds MS, said: “The River Wye is being allowed to die through political failure on both sides of the border. This will affect local residents and tourists in an area where people swim, canoe and spend time to reconnect with nature. 

“This is not an isolated case - rivers across Wales and England are being sacrificed because regulators are weak and communities are ignored.

“I have written to the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales demanding properly funded River Basin Management Plans and urgent cooperation with the Environment Agency to stop the destruction of the Wye.”