Thousands Join Biggest Ever UK Environmental Lawsuit
The biggest legal claim ever brought in the UK over environmental pollution in the country has been filed at the High Court. Almost 4,000 people have signed up to the lawsuit against major poultry producers and a water company over allegations of “extensive and widespread pollution” in three rivers – the Wye, Lugg and Usk.
They argue the state of the rivers in recent years has severely affected local businesses, property values and people’s enjoyment of the area, and are seeking “substantial damages”.
The firms being sued – Avara Foods Limited, Freemans of Newent Limited and Welsh Water – all deny the claims.
Celine O’Donovan, from the law firm Leigh Day, said the case was the largest brought in the UK over environmental pollution in the country on three counts – the number of claimants, the geographical scale of the damage and the total damages claimed.
The BBC is reporting that those who have joined the group legal claim all either live or work alongside the rivers or use them regularly for leisure activities like swimming and canoeing. They want the court to order a clean-up of the rivers as well as compensation.
A combination of chicken manure and sewage spills are blamed for harming water quality and suffocating fish and other wildlife.
The Wye in particular has become symbolic of widespread concerns over the worsening state of the UK’s waterways in recent years.
As many as 23 million chickens, a quarter of the UK’s poultry production, are raised in the river’s catchment area. It flows for 155 miles from its source in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales along the border with England to the Severn Estuary.
The River Lugg is a major tributary of the Wye, flowing predominately through Herefordshire.
The River Usk runs through the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, also known as the Brecon Beacons, as well as the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site, external before reaching the Bristol Channel at Newport.
All three rivers are protected for their importance to rare wildlife, including otters, freshwater pearl mussels and the Atlantic salmon.
Wildlife filmmaker Justine Evans is acting as the lead claimant and said she had noticed a “stark decline” in the Wye’s condition in recent years.
The once clear river had turned murky and slimy, completely changing how she felt about living alongside it, she said. “It’s horrible to think what has happened to the wildlife it is home to,” she added.
Former Olympic swimmer Roland Lee moved to live near the Wye in order to have access to open water for swimming. “But now I’d actually go as far as to warn people against going in,” he said.
Another claimant, Gino Parisi from Raglan, Monmouthshire, was worried about the state of the River Usk.
“Having grown up around the River Usk in the 1980s, I know just how beautiful the river and surrounding area can be,” he said.
Now the water had become “mucky and cloudy” and “you can see build-ups of foam in a number of spots”.
“Not only would I feel uncomfortable going in, but I’d also have concerns for my health.”
The claimants allege pollution has been caused by run-off from farmland containing high concentrations of phosphorus, nitrogen and bacteria from the spreading of poultry manure and sewage bio solids used as fertiliser. They also blame discharge of sewage directly into rivers.
The companies being sued are accused of negligence, causing private and public nuisance and even trespass where the riverbed has been affected on a claimant’s property.
One part of the claim is brought on behalf of people affected by what is known as the Lugg Moratorium – restrictions on building brought in by Herefordshire County Council to protect the River Lugg from further pollution.
Oliver Holland from Leigh Day said the claim was “the culmination of an extraordinary effort by local community members and campaign groups to research, monitor and advocate for their rivers”.
“This is the largest legal action concerning environmental pollution ever brought in the UK. In a context where government and regulators have failed to prevent the degradation of our rivers the court has become the last avenue for justice,” he added.