This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Restart dredging the rivers to stop the flooding. Stop building on flood plains.
Now that we have left the EU we should start dredging the rivers again to stop the flooding. Stop building on flood plains will also help with the natural order of nature.
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We never had no where near as much flooding as we do now when the rivers were dredged on a regular basis. The sludge could be used on the fields as natural fertiliser the rivers would flow better, natural drainage all round. So much better for the environment and will save billions in insurance claims and no more devastated home owners losing everything year on year in flood areas.
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.
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.