A NEW independent environmental watchdog will be based in the city, it has been revealed.

The Office for Environmental Protection, which has been set up as an independent regulatory body following the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, will be based in Worcester.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow made the announcement in the House of Commons on Tuesday (January 26).

"I'd like to take the opportunity to provide the House with an update on the OEP. We want to ensure that this is located in a good, long-term place and, trust me, there are quite a lot of contenders.

"And upon considering wider locations, we have decided that Worcester will be an excellent location for the headquarters of the OEP.

"This is part of the government's commitment to ensuring that opportunities are spread fairly across the country.

"My heart goes out to the people in the area who may have been flooded this week but I hope this gives them a little bit of good news in terms of the OEP being based in Worcester."

Details of where the watchdog's headquarters would be built has yet to be revealed.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said he was delighted by the news.

Basing the office in the city will bring around 50 jobs, Mr Walker said.

The announcement came as the government delayed the long-awaited Environment Bill, which redraws rules after the UK’s departure from the EU.

The proposed legislation would be the biggest shake-up of green regulation in decades.

Ministers said the delay, which means the flagship bill is unlikely to pass before the autumn, was necessary because the coronavirus pandemic had left too little time for debate in Parliament.

Mrs Pow told the House of Commons that work on the bill, including the establishment of the new Office for Environmental Protection, would still continue.