Northampton construction company fined £160,000 after causing ‘gross and chronic’ pollution in brook

A Northampton construction company has been fined by magistrates for causing “gross and chronic” pollution in a brook.

At Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on March 1, 2023, Winvic Construction Limited, of Tenter Road, Moulton Park admitted causing pollution and was fined £160,000.

The court was told that the company were contractors at the East Midlands Gateway development site near Kegworth, Leicestershire when Hemington Brook became highly turbid and discoloured with clay solids.

A member of the public alerted the Environment Agency when the brook started “running red with silt pollution” on or before September 27, 2019.

The source was traced to an outfall near the development site, which was the responsibility of the company. Staff told officers from the Environment Agency that a drain blocker had failed. This had allowed the contaminated contents of two ponds to drain and discharge into the brook via a flood attenuation basin. This continued into the following day.

Analysis was carried out revealing that the level of suspended solids in Hemington Brook had measured between 1200 - 1400 mg/l downstream. By comparison, historical sampling data from 2019/20 indicated an average level of 50 mg/l suspended solids with a maximum of 240 mg/l.

A biological survey revealed that the discharge of contaminated run off from the site had caused “gross and chronic” pollution adversely affecting invertebrates, according to the Environment Agency.

The court accepted that the offence was due in part to unprecedented rainfall in the local area.

Ian Firkins senior environment manager for the Environment Agency’s East Midlands Area, said: “We welcome this sentence which should act as a deterrent to other companies who breach environmental legislation. 

“As a regulator, the Environment Agency will not hesitate to pursue companies that fail to meet its obligations to the environment.

“The conditions of an environmental permit are designed to protect people and the environment.  

“Failure to comply with these legal requirements is a serious offence that can damage the environment and harm human health. 

“If anyone has environmental concerns they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers anonymously and in confidence on 0800 555 111.” 

A Winvic spokesperson said: “We acknowledge and regret the discharge of surface water containing Mercia Mudstone held in the East Midlands Gateway (EMG) site’s ponds into Hemington Brook in August 2019. Whilst Industry defined and agreed best practice mitigation measures were in place at the site, a number of factors combined to leave Winvic - in the words of the Court, “between a rock and a hard place.

“Due to the acknowledged heaviest period of rainfall in the area since records began, significant volumes of water built up in the approved siltation ponds on the site. This unforeseen event unfortunately attracted large numbers of migrating birds which presented a very real and potentially fatal risk of a bird-strike at the adjacent East Midlands Airport, conflicting with the requirement from the Environment Agency (EA) to hold and clean water prior to discharge. The decision was therefore taken to discharge water from the ponds in order to avoid the possibility of a more catastrophic event occurring – hence the “rock and a hard place” comment above. However, we accept that in doing so water containing suspended solids of Mercia Mudstone was discharged into Hemington Brook.

“The Mercia Mudstone naturally occurs not only on the EMG site but in the wider catchment area. Both the EA and the Court accepted that the environmental harm caused by the water discharge was “minor and localised… incurring low costs through clean-up, site restoration or animal rehabilitation.

“The construction work undertaken by Winvic on the EMG site was fully in accordance with a Development Consent Order granted by the Secretary of State, and more specifically, fully complied with the recommendations within the Construction Management Framework Plan and Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) guidance.

"The Company, however, also implemented additional measures to treat the water and manage the site run off. All flood prevention measures were endorsed by the EA before the project commenced. The additional measures employed by Winvic were reviewed by the EA and noted as being unprecedented in respect of water management. Furthermore, we are pleased that the measures have improved the pre-existing local situation, significantly reducing the risk of potential flooding at Hemington.

“Nonetheless, we have welcomed working with the EA throughout the process to ensure lessons could be learned and applied across the business. Winvic is committed to ‘Doing It Right’ and strives for continuous improvement in all areas. We continue to liaise with the EA on numerous projects to achieve successful outcomes.”

The company was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £25,577.79.