Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Jabed Ahmed

Estate of one of Britain’s richest women fined for using three Olympic pools worth of water during drought

The Ilchester Estate in Dorset ‘deliberately flouted’ the conditions of its licence to abstract water - (Shutterstock/Mike Searle/Geograph)

An estate owned by one of Britain’s richest women has been fined nearly £28,000 after it used the equivalent of three Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water during a drought.

The Ilchester Estate in Dorset is owned by Charlotte Townshend, who was listed at 287 in the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List thanks to inherited wealth, with her fortune now estimated at a staggering £489 million.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.