Council criticised for spending £50k on ecologist

The former leader of a council has criticised the authority's decision to spend £50,000 on hiring an ecologist "responsible for the ocean".

Forest of Dean District Council plans to recruit an "oceans officer", with the Green leadership saying the post will help protect the "precious" environment in the Severn and Wye rivers.

But former council leader, Tim Gwilliam, who represents the Progressive Independent party, has criticised the decision to spend money on something he does not believe to be the council's responsibility.

Current leader, Adrian Birch, said the plans had been progressed correctly with "clear support" from the council.

The council approved its budget in February, which included an agreement to allocate £50,000 for an ecologist to help deliver the council's rivers and oceans motion, to tackle pollution.

"I'm sure Foresters in their ocean-fronted homes in Bream and Bicknor will be well pleased," said Gwilliam.

"I noted with some irony that the cabinet member said when asked about possibly funding libraries or road improvements that were not Forest of Dean District Council responsibility at the very same time he and his cabinet were committing to spend tens of thousands of pounds on an oceans officer," he added.

The Severn is identified as the worst river in England for sewage pollution, jeopardising ecological, economic, and recreational activity and human health, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Green councillors said the rivers are being polluted by farm and sewage run-off, affecting salmon and eel populations. They also raised the issue of plastic polluting the ocean.

Birch said questions over the role had been repeatedly answered.

"There is clearly more we can do to work alongside others to protect our precious river environment, but we cannot do this without the necessary additional resource," he said.

"We will now be progressing this important work and recruiting to this post. We sincerely hope that all elected members will now get behind us and support this initiative."

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