The fact that the EA stopped dredging twenty years ago, and have refused to carry it out despite requests for it ever since, and the government takes their advise on the correct course of action, I think it would be pointless.
Project obviously doesn’t go much further than sensationalist headlines, before posting up knee-jerk threads.
It’s worth pointing out that both heads of the EA have been Labour appointees, the current one being Chris Smith, before becoming Lord Smith:
In 1997 he was appointed to Tony Blair’s Cabinet as the first Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. As a Minister known to have a close connection with the arts scene in Britain his time at DCMS is generally regarded as a success as many projects funded through the National Lottery came to fruition. There were controversies most notably his approval during his first week as minister of the appointment of Mary Allen to the Royal Opera House in which case a Select Committee report found that he had exceeded his authority and failed in not seeking advice from his Permanent Secretary.
In 2000 he managed to secure a tax rebate that enabled many museums to give free admission. He held this position throughout the Labour government’s first term, but was sacked and returned to the back benches after the 2001 election, replaced by the up-and-coming Tessa Jowell. Tony Blair later hinted at his regret at losing Smith’s services, particularly his strong relationship with the arts world.[citation needed].
Appointment to the House of Lords[edit]
After over 20 years in Parliament, Smith stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election. It was announced on 30 April 2005 that he was to be created a life peer, and the title was gazetted on 22 June 2005 as Baron Smith of Finsbury, in the London Borough of Islington.[7]
Retirement from politics[edit]
Smith was appointed Chair of the London Cultural Consortium (the successor body to the Cultural Strategy Group) by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, and served from 2005 to 2008.
He was one of the founding directors of the Clore Leadership Programme, an initiative aimed at helping to train and develop new leaders of Britain’s cultural sector.[8][9] He is also currently Chairman of the Wordsworth Trust.[10] In November 2006, he was appointed as Chairman of The Advertising Standards Authority.[citation needed] Smith is a keen mountaineer and was the first MP to climb all the 3,000 ft “Munros” in Scotland;[11] in April 2004 he was elected as the Ramblers’ Association President.[12] He is a patron of London-based HIV charity, The Food Chain.[citation needed]
On 30 January 2005, Smith revealed to the Sunday Times that he had HIV and was first diagnosed in 1987.[3] He stated that he had decided to go public following Nelson Mandela’s announcement of his son’s death from AIDS.[2]
On 8 May 2008, he was announced as the new Chairman of the Environment Agency and took up the new role in mid July.[13] In an interview with The Independent in August that year, he said Britain faced hard choices over which coasts to defend and which to leave to the sea because it would not be possible to save all coastal homes from sea erosion.[14] Lord Smith was re-appointed as Chair of the Environment Agency for a further three years by Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman in 2011. Lord Smith, will now continue in this role until 13 July 2014. On re-appointment he received £100,813 pro rata for 2011/12, based on working three days per week.[15]
I’d like to know exactly what expert knowledge about the environment, in particular flooding, and the defence thereof, he took to the Environment Agency.