Housing company sentenced and fined £300,000 for polluting stream
Tuesday 14th July 2026
A major property developer has been fined £300,000 after it polluted a stream with raw sewage potentially containing blood from an abattoir.
Whilst building new homes, construction debris fell through a manhole blocking the sewer which caused it to burst. The burst sewer resulted in raw sewage spilling into the stream and construction site.
The company had previously been advised about preventing pollution after another incident in 2019. Despite this, the company failed to ensure that the manhole was properly fenced off and managed.
The company pleaded guilty to polluting the stream and was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge totalling £11,042.10.