Rejected petition Urgently re-start dredging our rivers.

Now we have left the EU re-start dredging our rivers to increase their capacity and reduce flooding.

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Because lack of dredging is a major cause of river flooding.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.

We understand that you are concerned about flood management, but we're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do.

Dredging and the removal of silt and sand from main rivers is regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010, but decisions about dredging of individual rivers is a matter for individual local authorities and the Environment Agency, not the Government or House of Commons.

EU laws did affect decisions about dredging, but the practice was not banned while the UK was a member of the EU. You can read more about this here: https://fullfact.org/online/EU-dredging-floods/

We could accept a petition calling on the Government to ban development on flood plains, and review guidance on dredding of rivers, if that is something you want to happen.

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 22 January 2021
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