- Natural England and Environment Agency are launching legal action today against landowners
- The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which means that permissions are required before work can be performed.
Natural England and Environment Agency announced today that they will begin legal action against a landowner who caused damage to a protected area in the River Lugg in Herefordshire.
This follows a joint investigation of Natural England and Environment Agency into ecological harm to 1.5 km of the River Lugg. This investigation was initiated by reports of unauthorised activities, including dredging or changing the profile (profiling), at the riverbank in Kingsland.
This investigation was complex and very difficult. It took a lot of time.
The charges brought against the landowner relate primarily to:
- Unconsented operations or damage to a Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Activities within 8 meters of the River Lugg that are likely to damage or threaten the stability of the river
- causing water discharge activity, namely silt discharge into the River Lugg
- Failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent agricultural contamination from land management and cultivation practices
- Willfully disturbing spawning or spawning fishing fish or any bed, bank, or shallow where any spawning or spawning fish might be
- Brute of a stop warning
Additional works are also alleged to have taken place by the landowner between December 2021 and December 2021.
Kidderminster Magistrates Court will now take legal action.
Oliver Harmar, Chief Operating officer at Natural England, stated:
This section of River Lugg was decimated, causing havoc for the local environment as well as the people living there. It also caused the loss of habitats for iconic wildlife like salmon, kingfisher, and otters. It was heartbreaking that this beautiful riverside had been illegally damaged.
The River Lugg after 2020
The River Lugg after 2020
Because of its significance for nature, the area has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Any works within a SSSI that is not granted must be consented to.
Notes to editors
On 7 December 2020, a press release was issued about the unauthorised work.
Natural England is responsible in ensuring the protection of SSSI areas, while the Environment Agency manages flood risk management, fish spawning and river function.
Natural England has regulatory powers that prevent SSSIs being damaged and can take appropriate enforcement action. This includes prosecuting offenders where damage is caused.
The Environment Agency is authorized to prosecute under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales), Regulations 2016, and Water Resources Act 1991.
The hearing will take place at Kidderminster Magistrates court on 18 May 2022.