PERSIMMON plc - RIVER POLLUTION, FINED £433,331

  WATER POLLUTION IS DIFFICULT TO PROVE, BUT WATER RUN OFF FROM A SITE AT THE WILLOW COURT DEVELOPMENT IN ABERGAVENNY WAS PROVEN - AND PERSIMMON HOMES WERE FINED A TOTAL OF £433,331 POUNDS - AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO THE OFFENCES. - WHO ARE THE BEST AND WORST BUILDERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM? - THE MOST ECOLOGICALLY FRIENDLY AND COMMUNITY MINDED?

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NATURAL RESOURCES WALES SUCCESSFULLY PROSECUTED PERSIMMON HOMES FOLLOWING RIVER POLLUTION

Persimmon Homes has been fined £433, 331 after failing to implement appropriate measures to prevent multiple pollution incidents which impacted the River Gavenny in Monmouthshire, South Wales in 2019.

The house-building company pleaded guilty to charges relating to breaches in Environmental Permitting Regulations at Newport Magistrates Court earlier today (5 April)

A total of seven pollution offences, caused by illegal water discharge activities occurred at the Willow Court development site in Abergavenny between 11 February and 11 November 2019.

An additional pollution offence also occurred on 2 February 2021. 

Inspections carried out by Natural Resources Wales (NRW)revealed that the pollutant on each occasion was caused by water run-off from the site, which had been contaminated with silt.

Water samples obtained and analysed by NRW officers from the River Gavenny showed significant levels of suspended solids (small solid particles which remain in suspension in water) in the watercourse. This can have a negative impact on fish and other invertebrates, clogging their gills and reducing light penetration in the water.

Although there was no evidence of fish kill recorded in the Gavenny, the impact of silt would have had a detrimental effect on aquatic life in the water.

NRW officers met on site with the management of Persimmon Homes in March 2019 to discuss the necessary preventative measures that needed to be implemented to minimise the risk of pollution.

This included jet washing the silt back from the road onto the site and digging a trench across the entrance, in which clean stone and straw bales could be placed to absorb any silt water runoff.

While the trench initially stopped the immediate flow of contaminated water, additional mitigation measures, including digging more ditches, closing the site entrance to traffic, and effectively recording inspections of pollution measures, failed to be carried out.

A silt netting placed at a discharge point into the river Gavenny, designed to prevent silt from entering the river was also not maintained.

Anthony Bruten, Environment Officer for Natural Resources Wales said:

Environmental regulations are in place to help protect people, wildlife, our rivers, and land.
The construction industry has a duty of care to the communities in which they operate, to ensure the correct controls and safeguards are in place in order to prevent incidents such as these occurring.

In this case, Persimmon Homes’ failure to put in place suitable mitigation methods meant that silt run off from the site continued to negatively impact the nearby water courses and the River Gavenny over a period of 10 months.

I hope this fine will send out a clear message that environmental legislation is to be taken seriously. We will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those who disregard regulations and jeopardise the natural environment we all know and love.

Persimmon Homes was fined £53,000 per offence, as well being ordered to pay NRW costs of £9161 and a victim surcharge of £170 bringing the total fines to £433, 331. 

To report a pollution incident please call NRW’s 24-hour incident hotline on 0300 065 3000 or report it online Natural Resources Wales / Report an incident.

CASE STUDY: THE REGULATORY FAILURES UNDERMINING THE PLANNING CONSENT BY WEALDEN DISTRICT & HERSTMONCEUX PARISH COUNCILS - CHARLES CHURCH & PERSIMMON DEVELOPMENT AT CHAPEL GREEN

By Our Investigative Team

The approval of seventy houses on a long-standing dog walking field in or between 2014 and 2018, near a key regional road (the A271), has drawn intense scrutiny. While residents initially raised standard objections regarding the loss of green space, a deeper investigation into the planning process reveals a series of critical regulatory and ethical failures that cumulatively raise serious questions about the validity of the final planning consent.

This development, it is believed, now managed by Persimmon Homes and Charles Church Developments, allegedly, following its acquisition from Clarion Housing, presents a rare confluence of un-addressed conflicts of interest, mandatory consultation omissions, and profound environmental risks that warrant immediate review by national oversight agencies.

Alleged Undisclosed Interests: Erosion of Procedural Trust

The integrity of the planning process relies on transparency and the scrupulous declaration of conflicts of interest. In this case, records suggest two significant potential breaches of conduct:

- Parish Council Link: Evidence indicates a Parish Councillor, involved in the initial consultation phase, was related to the owner of the land that received the consent. Crucially, this potential interest appears to have gone undeclared, it is alleged.

- Local Authority Link: The Chair of Wealden’s Area Plans South, the committee responsible for granting final approval, reportedly held a prior working relationship with the landowner, an association that was also not publicly declared, it is alleged.

While the legal impact of these omissions requires formal investigation, the failure to declare such close ties immediately undermines public confidence in the impartiality and objectivity of the consent process.

Critical Failures in Statutory Consultation

A successful planning consent must adhere to mandatory consultation requirements with agencies responsible for specialized national assets. In this case, the local authority failed to properly engage with three key governmental bodies:

1. The Heritage Oversight Failure

The development site contains two nationally significant historical features that were neglected in the planning file:

- Ancient Well: The land contains an ancient well, raising the risk of ground contamination. The local authority failed to consult DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), who would typically advise against development within a 100-meter protective radius due to the threat of pollution from hydrocarbons, domestic herbicides, and runoff contaminating the water source. Threatening to poison a water source is a criminal offence, as is conspiracy in the matter. See the offences against the Person Act 1861, section 24. And that raises the issue of corporate manslaughter.

- UK’s Earliest Power Station: Located nearby is the UK’s earliest electricity generating station—the only one in the world known to feature battery load leveling, dating from 1896. This unique asset mandates consultation with DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and Historic England to ensure its protection and archaeological integrity. This consultation did not occur, it is alleged.

2. Environmental and Safety Breaches

The application also appears to have minimized critical concerns related to both ecology and highway safety:

- Protected Species Habitat: The proposed redirection of water runoff threatens a local pond confirmed to contain Great Crested Newts (GCN), a European protected species. Failure to consult the relevant ecological experts and implement robust GCN mitigation strategies represents a serious potential breach of environmental law, it is alleged.

- Highway Safety Deficit: The planning includes a visibility splay fronting onto the A271 that has been deemed substandard, particularly given its proximity to a hill crest. This requires the rigorous review and approval of the Highways Agency to confirm public safety—a requirement that appears inadequately addressed, it is alleged.

- Public Access Rights: Herstmonceux Parish and Wealden District Councils knew of the existence of unregistered public footpaths across the site, used by dog walkers for over forty years, including local Councillors walking their dogs, yet failed to officially register them prior to the consent being granted, removing a key piece of leverage for protecting public access. It is alleged.

Developer Reputation: A Further Cause for Concern

The sensitivity of this planning case is compounded by the reputation of the new site owner. When, this month is was discovered that, Persimmon Homes, which is alleged to have acquired the land from Clarion Housing, for the Charles Church development, was fined £433,000 for polluting a river in Wales in connection with one of its housing developments. It is alleged.

This significant regulatory enforcement action raises justifiable concerns among local residents that a developer with a recent, major environmental infraction on its record may be ill-equipped to manage the ecological sensitivities of this site, particularly regarding the ancient well and the GCN pond. It is alleged.

Call for Agency Review

Given the depth of these anomalies—ranging from potential procedural corruption to unfulfilled statutory obligations concerning nationally important heritage and critical environmental risk—this 2015-2021 planning consent demands a full and immediate re-evaluation.

We urge the following bodies to launch comprehensive reviews into the failures of the local authority to consult:

- Historic England/DCMS: To assess the non-consultation regarding the 1896 generating station, and the impact on this unique community asset.

- DEFRA/Environment Agency: To assess the threat to the ancient well and the GCN habitat from the approved plans.

- Highways Agency: To confirm the safety and adequacy of the A271 visibility splay.

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