| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1948 | River Boards Act 1948 creates 32 new River Boards to replace Catchment Boards in England and Wales. Functions to include river conservancy, fisheries management, river gauges, etc. (Thames Conservancy, Lea Conservancy Catchment Board and London Excluded Area retained.) |
| 1949 | Coast Protection Act 1949. National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Establishes National Parks Commission for England and Wales (with some limited powers to designate and manage National Parks) and Nature Conservancy (NC), an independent advisory and research body for England, Wales and Scotland. NC to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), and National Nature Reserves (NNRs) (powers extended under Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). Local authorities empowered to designate Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) following consultation with statutory agency. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research appoints Thames Survey Committee (Chair: Herbert Cremer) to examine polluting discharges in tidal Thames, reporting in 1964. |
| 1951 | Ministry of Housing and Local Government [MHLG] appoints Pippard Committee to examine tidal Thames (reported 1961). Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951: further conditions placed on discharge of sewage and industrial effluent to rivers. |
| 1953 | Severe storm surge flooding on River Thames and east coast of Britain. Over 300 people are killed in England and Scotland. Click here for images of flood in The Guardian newspaper. |
| 1954 | Home Office, Scottish Office, MHLG, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Report of the Departmental Committee on Coastal Flooding (Chair: Viscount Waverley). Protection of Birds Acts 1954 allows for provision of Sanctuary Areas in England, Scotland, Wales (later, Areas of Special Protection under Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). |
| 1960 | Clean Rivers (Estuaries and Tidal Waters) Act 1960 expands pollution control powers of river boards. |
| 1961 | Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Pollution of the Tidal Thames: Report of the Departmental Committee on the Effects of Heated and other Effluents and Discharges on the Condition of the Tidal Reaches of the River Thames (London: HMSO, 1961) [Chair: A.J.S. Pippard]. Ministry of Transport. Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Major Ports of Great Britain. Cmnd 1824 (1961-62) (Chair: Viscount J.D. Rochdale). Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1961. |
| 1962 | Transport Act 1962 establishes British Waterways Board to manage canals and inland waterways in Great Britain. |
| 1963 | London Government Act 1963 establishes the Greater London Council (see 1965). Water Resources Act 1963 creates 27 River Authorities, with additional powers to develop water resources (replacing River Boards), and a Water Resources Board to develop national strategy for England and Wales. (Thames Conservancy, Lea Conservancy Catchment Board and London Excluded Area are retained). Lead department: MHLG. |
| 1964 | Thames Conservancy (New Functions of River Authorities in Thames Catchment Area) Order, 1964 brings Thames Conservancy powers into line with those of new river authorities. Thames Conservancy (New Functions of River Authorities in London Excluded Area) Order 1964 transfers powers of licensing groundwater abstraction in London Excluded Area from Minister to Thames Conservancy. Thames Survey Committee report: Water Pollution Research Laboratory, Effects of Polluting Discharges on the Thames Estuary: The Reports of the Thames Survey Committee and of the Water Pollution Research Laboratory (London: HMSO, 1964) (Chair: Herbert Cremer). Completion of London County Council improvements (1955-64) to main drainage sewerage (Beckton and Crossness outfalls; Mogden sewage treatment works). Port of London Act 1964 expands powers of PLA in line with 1951 and 1961 river pollution legislation. Port of London handles its peak tonnage (61.3 million tons). Harbours Act 1964 establishes National Ports Council (NPC). Port development schemes need to be cleared with Government minister (in consultation with NPC). |
| 1965 | Greater London Council (GLC) replaces LCC (under London Government Act 1963) (see Maps section). Responsible for flood prevention and land drainage in London Excluded Area, sewerage, refuse collection and river transport of refuse). London Government Order 1965, No. 654 (article 14) dissolves Commissioners of Sewers for the Levels of Havering, Dagenham, Ripple, Barking, East Ham, West Ham, Leyton, Walthamstow, Bromley and East Marsh. These are transferred to Lee Conservancy Catchment Board under the Local Law (Greater London Council and Inner London Boroughs) Order 1965. Under Science and Technology Act 1965, Nature Conservancy is absorbed into the new Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1965 consolidates existing legislation and expands restrictions on use of explosives, electrical devices and poisonous substances 'for taking or destroying fish' |
| 1968 | Port of London Act 1968. Please click here for current (amended) version on PLA website. First transatlantic container ship docks at Tilbury. St Katharine's Dock is closed and the land sold to the GLC. Flooding in East Moseley, Thames Valley. Town and Country Planning Act 1968 introduces County Council level Structure Plans. Roskill Commission on the Third London Airport (1968-71) (chair: Mr Justice Roskill) considers options including coastal site at Foulness/Maplin Sands promoted by the PLA for a seaport and airport. Its remit: 'to enquire into the timing of the need for a four-runway airport to cater for the growth of traffic at existing airports serving the London area, to consider the various alternative sites, and to recommend which site should be selected'. A House of Commons summary of estuary airport plans: 'Aviation: proposals for an airport in the Thames estuary, 1945-2012'. |
| 1970 | Surrey Commercial Docks close. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution established (1970-2011). |
| 1971 | Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance agreed in Ramsar, Iran (ratified by UK in 1976). |
| 1972 | Thames Barrier and Flood Prevention Act 1972 makes way for construction of moveable Thames (GLC-led project, opened in 1984). Click here for Environment Agency booklet on Thames flooding and protection. Click here for short British Pathé film on investigation into Thames tidal defence (1969). European Communities Act 1972 provides for UK entry to the European Communities (EC). United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972. Oslo Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (in force 1974). London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, 3rd Report: Pollution in Some British Estuaries and Coastal Waters. Cmnd 5054 (London: HMSO, 1972). |
| 1973 | Water Act 1973 (in force from April 1974). Ten Regional Water Authorities created for England and Wales for water supply, sewerage and pollution control. RWAs take over smaller water undertakings, license local sewerage operators, and take on recreation functions. A new Thames Water Authority (TWA) absorbs the MWB and other water suppliers in the Thames catchment area, as well as the Thames Conservancy and Lee Conservancy Catchment Board. National Water Council and Water Space Amenity Commission created. Land drainage functions excluded; Regional Land Drainage Committees established. GLC loses sewerage functions but retains land drainage and flood protection; acquires new responsibilities for recreation on the River Thames in London and ownership of several Thames piers. PLA loses pollution control functions; retains rubbish removal and oil clearance functions. Nature Conservancy Council Act 1973 establishes the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) for England, Scotland and Wales. UK enters the EC. |
| 1974 | Control of Pollution Act 1974. Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-Based Sources. |
| 1975 | Reservoirs Act 1975 sets out obligations for safety of reservoirs. EEC Council Directive of 15 July 1975 on Waste (75/442/EEC). |
| 1976 | Severe drought in Thames region and whole of UK (click here for an in-depth report by John Rodda and Terry Marsh.) Land Drainage Act 1976. UK becomes signatory to Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance 1971. |
| 1978-79 | EC Fish Directive [on the Quality of Fresh Waters Needing Protection or Improvement in order to Support Fish Life] (78/659/EEC). |
| 1979-80 | EC Birds Directive (1979) sets out terms for designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) as sites of European importance for wild birds. EC Shellfish Directive (1979). EC Drinking Water Abstraction Directive (1979). EC Drinking Water Directive (1980). EEC Directive 80/68/EEC Of 17 December 1979 on the Protection Of Groundwater against Pollution caused by Certain Dangerous Substances. West India and Millwall Docks close (1980). |