On Thursday, a court sentenced a landowner to prison for badly damaging a stretch of the River Lugg.
This follows a successful investigation and prosecution by Natural England and the Environment Agency where the landowner pleaded guilty to carrying out work without consents.
Full restoration of this highly protected river is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Jamie Audsley, chief executive, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, says:
“Today’s outcome means justice for the River Lugg. The sentencing reflects the seriousness of the damage caused to a stretch of the river and which is supposed to be protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
“We were shocked to discover a bulldozer was used to undertake work in the river, disturbing gravels, reprofiling a bank and removing vegetation – the episode caused immense harm to this special and much-loved river. The riverbed and its plants such as water crowfoot are home to crayfish, otters and salmon, lampreys and dragonflies.
“Whilst it will take a long time to recover, we hope that this stretch of river can once again become a thriving natural habitat for wildlife. We’re all looking forward to seeing it restored to its natural beauty.
“Landowners have a clear and vital responsibility to look after the rivers in their care. This prosecution must act as a deterrent to prevent anyone harming rivers again.
“We would like to thank teams from Natural England and the Environment Agency for their diligent investigations, which led to this prosecution, and to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust staff and members for their support.”
In December 2020, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust sounded the alarm about environmental damage at a highly protected stretch of the River Lugg at Kingsland which led to an investigation by Natural England and the Environment Agency.
Farmer, Mr John Price of Day House Farm, Kingsland, was charged with a number of offences, including failing to stop agricultural pollution from entering the river and removing trees and vegetation from the banks, and re-profiling river banks; and carrying out work without consents in November 2020 and December 2021.
He pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced today at Kidderminster Magistrates Court.
During a court hearing in May 2022, the prosecution asked Natural England and the Environment Agency to provide a full plan of restoration works for the stretch of the river.
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust has been working hard over the last decade, in partnership with landowners and communities, to improve habitats along the Lugg Valley for wildlife as well as for wider benefits including natural flood management and reducing pollution.
Craig Bennett, chief executive, The Wildlife Trusts, says:
“I’m delighted that the prosecution has been successful but prosecutions like this are all too rare. Underfunding of our environmental regulators means investigations and enforcement action lags behind the urgent need to protect our rivers, which are facing unparalleled pressures, including agricultural run-off, and sewage pollution.
“We need to see strong support from politicians for our enforcement agencies and more resources for the agencies to do the job properly.”
“Prosecutions by the Environment Agency’s predecessor for water-related offences numbered upwards of 250 a year, whereas now numbers are close to a tenth of that, and staffing levels declined by a quarter in the decade since 2010.
“When only 14% of rivers in England are at good ecological status, and all fail chemical standards primarily due to historic pollution, the hollowing-out of these agencies is undermining our ability to protect and repair our damaged environment.
“The regulations that protect our natural world are only effective if our regulators are properly funded, so we need to see resources and political support for enforcement restored.
“Landowners and businesses need to know there’s a strong and realistic deterrent, and that if they damage or pollute our waterways, enforcement action will surely follow. Otherwise, polluters prosper, while society and nature pay the price.”
Press Release from the UK Government & Environment Agency:
Natural England and the Environment Agency have today welcomed the seriousness with which the Court has treated the severe and lasting damage to the River Lugg, which destroyed habitats and wildlife on a stretch of one of the country’s most unspoiled rivers.
John Price appeared today at Kidderminster Magistrates Court where he was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £600,000 and disqualified from being a director of a limited company for three years.
In addition, a Restoration Order under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was imposed requiring Mr Price to carry out a number of actions to restore the river.
The sentence is the result of legal action launched last year by Natural England and the Environment Agency following a joint in-depth investigation into environmental harm caused by the work in 2020 and 2021.
Mr Price used heavy machinery including bulldozers and excavators to dredge and reprofile a 1.5km stretch of the River Lugg at Kingsland, Herefordshire, destroying the riverbed and banks.
The unconsented works were in breach of several regulations, including the Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018, also known as the Farming Rules for Water; and operations prohibited in the notification of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which persisted despite Mr Price being issued with a Stop Notice.
Due to the exceptionally high diversity of wildlife, the River Lugg is a designated SSSI, with 121 river plant species that live in the river and provide habitat for invertebrates, fish and birds.
The damage to the river and banks removed the habitats of hundreds of these species including otters, kingfishers and salmon as well as destroying trees, aquatic plant life and invertebrates. It is predicted to take decades to re-establish mature trees to provide the stability, cover and shade to restore the diversity of the river.
Fish, plants, native crayfish and birds may take years to make a gradual return to previous populations.
In sentencing Mr Price, the Judge noted that neither the Environment Agency nor Natural England did anything to encourage these works.
Speaking after the verdict, Emma Johnson, Area Manager for Natural England said:
“The destruction of this section of the River Lugg was devastating for the abundance and range of species which thrived in this river. The River Lugg is one of the most iconic rivers in the UK and to see this wanton destruction take place was devastating. This is why we have used our powers as regulators to see that justice was done and to act as a stark warning to others that we will take the strongest action against those who do not respect the laws that protect the environment and wildlife we all cherish.
“We want to ensure that Mr Price now takes the necessary actions which we hope, in time will restore this much-loved stretch of river to its former condition.”
Martin Quine, Environment Agency Place Manager for Herefordshire added:
“We welcome the outcome of this prosecution for the unconsented works on the River Lugg.
“The Environment Agency is working hard to restore the health of our rivers. It is a complex task that can only be achieved in partnership with landowners. We provide advice and guidance but will impose sanctions or prosecute where appropriate to protect the environment and ensure those who breach regulations are held to account. The vast majority of landowners and users fully cooperate with this process.
“While Mr Price’s justification for the works was to help prevent flooding to local properties, his actions did not have any flood prevention benefit. The destruction of river banks is not appropriate flood management. It is important that the Judge recognised that the works significantly weakened flood prevention measures rather than improved them.
“We urge landowners never to take extreme measure such as this and instead to always work closely with the Environment Agency around river management to agree the best solutions for both landowners and the environment.”
As a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the Lugg is afforded the highest level of environmental protection.
Works to SSSIs or any watercourses must be done in such a way that protects the environment and does not cause any impact on flooding.
Such works can only be undertaken after securing permits from the Environment Agency.
