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South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler has visited SOCOTEC Company ESG to add her support to the company’s campaign to gain approval by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), and become first non-government organisation in the UK with the authority to carry out marine sediment testing.
The MMO licence, regulate and plan marine activities in the seas around England. Sampling and sediment analysis is required as part of the marine licence application process, a legal requirement for both on and offshore activities. However, at present there are currently only two approved laboratories in the UK approved to carry out the work.
ESG, the UK’s leading provider of testing, inspection and compliance services based in Bretby, South Derbyshire has a long standing reputation for technical expertise in marine sediment testing and the company’s robust extraction and analytical procedures have been developed specifically for complex marine samples. However without MMO approval the opportunities within this sector remain limited.
Tim Barnes, Operations Director at ESG comments: ‘We work with a wide range of clients in the marine sector, offering comprehensive marine monitoring support. Gaining MMO approval would substantially increase our growth in this sector and allow us, with our comprehensive array of laboratory testing services, to further support clients with streamlined analysis processes and fast turnaround times. Obtaining approval would allow us to further develop this area of the business, providing scope to generate jobs in the local area and invest further in new technology. We are delighted that Heather has taken the time to visit us at our Bretby site to understand about our business and support our ambition in this sector.’
Heather Wheeler added: ‘Visiting ESG on the Bretby site added so much to our earlier correspondence. I have been acting on behalf of the company with Government Departments to open up this new area of business for ESG. It only seems right to me that as they have this expertise around the world that they can use their staff and equipment in Bretby to undertake this testing for UK waters. After this meeting I am following up the matter pressing the Government Department to review procedures and hope that ESG are given approval to undertake this work.”
