The Area Advisory Group has been set up to provide help, support and advice to SEPA and the Environment Agency and have an important role in preparing the River Basin Management Plan.
The Area Advisory Group is supported by river basin planning co-ordinators and a Chair, provided jointly by the SEPA and the Environment Agency. The Chair of the Tweed Area Advisory Group is Chris Spray SEPA’s Director of Environmental Science.
Minutes and meeting schedules can be seen by clicking here.
Area Advisory Group membership
We recognise that the river basin planning is not the only process to which stakeholder led groups contribute when protecting and managing the water environment. We recognise the benefits of working with existing groups and are committed to working with them wherever possible. Therefore, in the Tweed sub basin, we are working closely with the Tweed Forum, an organisation with a successful history of catchment planning and management relating to the water environment of the Tweed. The Tweed Forums main objective is “to promote the wise and sustainable use of the whole of the Tweed catchment through holistic and integrated management and planning”. You can find out more about the Tweed Forum here.
Given the extensive knowledge of the Tweed catchment and the published management plans it will be important for us to work with the Tweed Forum to ensure that work is not repeated. Members of the existing Tweed Forum executive form a significant part, although not all of, the Tweed Area Advisory Group and include those who play a role in using, protecting, maintaining or enhancing the Tweed water environment. The Tweed Area Advisory group will meet up to four times per year and provide a mechanism to support the production of a River Basin Management Plan and its co-ordination with other plans and programmes. The meetings provide a means to consult with responsible authorities, co-deliverers and interested parties, to reach consensus and to prioritise views on river basin planning and WFD related matters.
We recognise the need to be flexible in our approach to the membership of the Area Advisory Group, which allows us to make best use of local expertise and to co-opt members onto the group to advise on specific issues.
Tweed Area Advisory Group member organisations
| Organisation |
Sector |
| Commerce and industry – Paper Federation |
Business/industry |
| Consumer Council for Water |
Water industry |
| Country Land and Business Association |
Rural economy |
| East Lothian Council |
Local authority |
| Forestry Commission Scotland |
Forestry |
| National Farmers Union Scotland |
Farming/rural land use |
| Natural England |
Natural England |
| Northumberland County council |
Local authority |
| Northumberland National Park |
National Park Authority |
| Northumberland Wildlife Trust |
Environmental (Non Governmental Organisation) |
| Northumbrian Water |
Water industry |
| River Tweed Commissioners |
Fisheries |
| Royal Society for the Protection of Birds |
Environmental (Non Governmental Organisation) |
| Scottish Borders Council |
Local authorities |
| Scottish Enterprise Borders |
Scottish Enterprise Borders |
| Scottish Natural Heritage |
Scottish Natural Heritage |
| Scottish Rural Property and Business Association |
Farming/rural land use |
| Scottish Water |
Water industry |
| South Lanarkshire Council |
Local authority |
| Tweed Forum |
Environmental (Non Governmental Organisation) |
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Tweed Area Advisory Group meeting agendas and minutes
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SEPA has published a report characterising the Solway Tweed River Basin District, which can be found by following the link:
Tweed Area Advisory Group Forum
To find out more about what’s happening the Tweed area, to be kept informed of the work of the Area Advisory Group or to join the Tweed Area Forum click here.
Click on the names below for information on other Area Advisory Groups
