A WARM - but qualified - welcome must be given to the new state Environment Agency which comes into being today.

For it has brought together dozens of separate bodies that existed before - notably the National Rivers Authority, HM Inspectorate of Pollution and the waste regulation authorities formerly run by councils.

The step is sensible - not least because, before, there were too many areas of overlap and the protection of the environment is too important a task to be blunted by such divisions.

However, what we seek from this new body is not any cost-cutting economies or reduction of resources that are cloaked by the merger, but greater efficiency and proper resourcing.

In addition, this agency must have teeth and real powers - and be clearly free from political interference and the influence of interest groups - in order to win the public's trust that the fight against pollution and dereliction is today being stepped up.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.