The Mail is reporting that the lower reaches of the Thames were not dredged because the Environment Agency saw its first duty as being to protect a rare mollusc.
In a 2010 report, seen by the Mail, they ruled out dredging between Datchet and Staines because the river bed was home to the vulnerable creatures.
And even though a public consultation indicated support for de-silting work, the quango said it would be ‘environmentally unacceptable’ due to the ‘high impact on aquatic species’.
I can accept that dredging is not a panacea - a point made in
New Scientist today - but it is becoming very clear that greenery has been put ahead of human welfare. The tendency for civil servants to put their own interests ahead of those of members of the public who pay their salaries has long been noted. For them to put the interests of voles and shellfish ahead of the public interest too is new. Heads need to roll.
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