Joe Crowley

1 month ago | bbc.com | Joe Crowley

Battle begins over new homes approved in historic village without sewage capacityJoe Crowley / BBCKate Pryke is campaigning to prevent new housing being built in a village where sewage facilities are over capacityOn the edge of Buckingham in southern England, the quiet and leafy village of Maids Moreton, dotted with thatched cottages, is at the heart of a dilemma.

1 month ago | bbc.co.uk | Joe Crowley

On the edge of Buckingham in southern England, the quiet and leafy village of Maids Moreton, dotted with thatched cottages, is at the heart of a dilemma. There is a plan - already granted permission - to add 153 new homes to the existing community of 350 houses, a medieval church and a pub. But the local sewage works has been over capacity for years, and there is no sign of it being upgraded soon. A choice is looming over what to do if the planned new homes are built.

Feb 9, 2025 | bbc.com | Joe Crowley

Power station's further reporting failure exposed by BBCGetty ImagesDrax failed to report the burning of wood from primary forests in Canada, BBC News foundA UK power station that has received billions of pounds in government subsidies has failed more than once to report it burned wood from primary forests, BBC News has found. Drax Power Station, which burns wood pellets, is required to report where it sources its wood and whether it is from natural, previously untouched forests.

Dec 9, 2024 | ca.finance.yahoo.com | Joe Crowley |Jonathan Coffey

One of England's top-rated water companies is using an accounting trick to artificially inflate its balance sheet by more than a billion pounds, BBC Panorama has discovered. Severn Trent Water claims that an investment is worth £1.68bn in its accounts, when in reality it has no value to the overall business. The made-up money makes the company appear more financially robust and helps to support its bumper payouts to shareholders.

Oct 16, 2024 | ca.news.yahoo.com | Joe Crowley

A water company repeatedly dumped millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into one of England's most famous lakes over a three-year period, the BBC can reveal. More than 140 million litres of waste were pumped into Windermere between 2021 and 2023 at times when it was not permitted, our analysis shows, and United Utilities failed to report most of it. It means the company's illegal dumping of sewage into the lake went on for far longer, and was far more extensive, than was previously known.