Northants farmer fined for fouling SSSI

The farmer was ordered to pay out over £8,000 for polluting a popular wildlife spot
The farmer was ordered to pay out over £8,000 for polluting a popular wildlife spot

A farmer who repeatedly polluted a stream in a Northamptonshire Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) has been ordered to pay £8,760.

Andrew Colinswood, of Salcey Green Farm, Hanslope, polluted a tributary of the River Great Ouse in Salcey Forest.

The area is a conservation site visited by 250,000 walkers, cyclists, horse riders and tourists every year.

Northampton Magistrates’ Court heard that the 41-year-old was negligent and breached environmental regulations.

The court heard that in April of last year, two lagoons on Mr Colinswood’s farm filled up with farmyard runoff, including raw cattle waste, before spilling over into connected drainage ditches which flowed into the stream.

Numerous reports to the Environment Agency said the stream was grey, covered in scummy foam and reeked of sewage.

Sampling by an agency officer found levels of ammonia 10 times higher than upstream – enough to be toxic to fish, invertebrates and other aquatic life.

Two weeks later, the officers returned to find the effects of the pollution were still ongoing, and dense outbreaks of fungus and midge larvae indicated the contamination had been ongoing for an extended period of time.

The impact was so severe that the Forestry Commission erected signs warning the public to keep their dogs out of the water.

The court heard how the farm lagoons had been constructed while Mr Colinswood was in charge of the site, and this process damaged existing site drainage.

This damage meant once the lagoons reached a certain level, they’d spill effluent via land drains into drainage ditches and then the stream.

Mr Colinswood, who has been farming since he was 15 and using this site for at least 3 years, admitted he was aware of this risk – but thought he could manage the runoff, which he clearly was unable to do.

He also sought to blame a neighbouring farm for the pollution, though investigations had already proved his own farm as the source.

This was the third time in just over 6 months Mr Colinswood faced enforcement action for polluting the same stream with farm waste.

Despite advice and a formal warning from the Environment Agency, his attempts to fix the situation didn’t stop it happening again.

Jack Taylor, the investigating officer, said: “This farmer was negligently and repeatedly putting a protected forest at risk.

“Not only are some of the trees here around 600 years old, but the forest provides rare and ancient habitat for a number of precious plants and insects. Despite this, he still ignored advice and a formal warning.”

Mr Colinswood pleaded guilty to breaching the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 by allowing farm waste to discharge into a watercourse.

He was ordered to pay a fine of £1,600, £7,000 in costs, and a £160 victim surcharge.