River users join MP for seventh Summit of the Dee

Samantha Dixon, Member of Parliament for Chester North & Neston, was joined by key River Dee Stakeholders at the latest Summit of the Dee series of roundtable events to encourage partnership working to improve the River Dee.

Held on Friday, 22nd May, representatives from the Environment Agency, United Utilities, Chester Zoo as well as charities, environmental groups, residents and sports clubs attended, demonstrating the passion locally about the future of the River Dee.

This latest Summit of the Dee was hosted by the University of Chester, highlighting the value but also the current challenges of working in partnership to deliver a healthy River Dee free from sewage pollution. This included talks from Peter Powell of The Dee Trust on the need for a “Dee Accord” similar to the Chesapeake Bay agreement in the United States. Chris Meredith talked about a joint project between United Utilities, Severn Trent and Welsh Water to reduce turbidity in the river. Steve Hughes of Forest City Project shared the successful development of a Sustainable Urban Drainage System at Queen’s Park High School.

Finally, Dianne Parrish of the Clean Dee campaign and the Environment Agency provided an update on the next steps following last week’s successful application for Bathing Water Status.

Samantha Dixon stated:

“I’d like to thank all the groups continuing to support the Summit of the Dee. The University of Chester has been a crucial partner hosting this Summit and three of the earlier summits which have started to deliver tangible results.

“This latest Summit focused on the importance of joined up working for those interested in the River Dee, and it’s clear there are so many more opportunities for organisations to work together on joint projects. I’d like to encourage the public to contact me if they would like to work on improving our River Dee alongside the charities and organisations who do such amazing work,”