Persimmon Homes has been fined more than £400,000 for seven separate pollution instances in one Welsh river. The national housebuilder pleaded guilty to breaching environmental permitting regulations at one of its development sites in Abergavenny. The seven separate breaches over a nine-month period resulted in illegal discharges into the River Gavenny in 2019, Newport Magistrates Court heard on April 5.
Persimmon also pleaded guilty to an additional pollution offence that happened on February 2, 2021. Inspections of the Persimmon Willow Court development by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) revealed that the house building company had allowed contaminated water run-off from the site into the River Gavenny.
The silt contamination could have had a negative impact on fish and other invertebrates, clogging their gills and reducing light penetration in the water, NRW said. 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.
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NRW had tried to work with Persimmon Homes to remedy the situation and had met the managers at the site 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: "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."
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes East Wales said: “We would like to sincerely apologise for these incidents which occurred some years ago in Abergavenny. While we are relieved that there has been no material harm caused to the local environment, and it has been acknowledged that they were not deliberate acts, we fully understand their potential significance.
“These incidents should not have happened and we have made a number of changes to local personnel and procedures in South East Wales to improve the on-site implementation of appropriate preventative measures. As a company we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and express our deep regret that these incidents took place."
Persimmon Homes was fined £53,000 per offence, totalling £424,000. They were also ordered to pay NRW costs of £9,161 and a victim surcharge of £170 bringing the total orders to pay to £433,331.
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes East Wales said following the verdict: “We would like to sincerely apologise for these incidents which occurred some years ago in Abergavenny.
“While we are relieved that there has been no material harm caused to the local environment, and it has been acknowledged that they were not deliberate acts, we fully understand their potential significance.
“These incidents should not have happened and we have made a number of changes to local personnel and procedures in South East Wales to improve the on-site implementation of appropriate preventative measures. As a company we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and express our deep regret that these incidents took place.”
