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Bellway Homes lands £10,000 bill for polluting beck near building site
Newcastle-based Bellway Homes was fined at Barnsley Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to the pollution of Knoll Beck at Brampton near Barnsley.
The company, of Dudley Lane, Seaton Burn, was also ordered to pay full costs of 2,119.87 to the Environment Agency, which brought the case.
James Keeley, for the Environment Agency, told the court that on December 13, 2004 an Environment Agency officer attended the Knoll Beck, which is next to the Heron's Reach Development on Pontefract Road at Brampton near Barnsley, to carry out routine water quality tests.
The Knoll Beck drains from the Hoyland area to the River Dearne at Wath upon Dearne and is classed by the Agency as a "river of good quality".
The river has been recovering in recent years from a history of industrial pollution and sewage.
Seven discharges from pipework were seen at the beck, next to the construction site where Bellway Homes Limited was building residential housing.
Samples were taken and the site manager was cautioned. The site manager informed the officer that the site was on a fairly high water table and when they excavate for foundations or drains, they fill up with water which is then pumped out, but he agreed to have the pipes bunged.
The samples were analysed and were found to contain suspended solids from the excavations on the site.
At the point of the discharge, it measured at 364 milligrams of suspended solids per litre compared with eight milligrams per litre upstream.
Suspended solids have a serious potential effect on habitats for plants and invertebrates in the watercourse with knock-on effects to other wildlife. It was feared it could also affect the health of fish in the area.
In interview, Bellway Homes Limited said it took its environmental and ecological responsibilities seriously and had taken the necessary precautions to try to deter any flow into the watercourse.
In mitigation, Bellway Homes Limited co-operated fully with the Environment Agency's investigation.
Speaking after the case, environment officer Anthony Downing said: "Pollution from the de-watering of excavations from building sites has been a persistent problem.
"Construction companies have a duty to make sure that sites are managed to prevent pollution.
"This prosecution of one of the country's largest house builders should help enforce the message to the wider construction industry."
A spokesman for Bellway Homes yesterday denied water from the site was pumped directly into the beck, but instead was pumped into a surface water "attenuation" basin with the intention being to then filter the water prior to release.
He said: "Environmental officers inspected the site and regrettably buried pipes a legacy from an earlier development were not identified and subsequently allowed dirty water to drain from the attenuation basin."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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