Environment Agency investigating barrister over unauthorised river clean-up

Paul Powlesland of Garden Court Chambers recently helped organise a team of volunteers to clean a section of a tributary of the River Roding on the edge of North West London. 

Powlesland is also the founder of the River Roding Trust, and the legal campaign group Lawyers for Nature.

Writing online, the barrister – who specialises in protest rights, environmental, employment, and housing law – said his team had worked on a 250m stretch of the waterway over 10 days, removing rubbish and “sludge” from the brook.

A Channel 4 report on the works showed video of the team using a digger to unblock the waterway.

Powlesland said that the team would return to finish the job if the environmental watchdog “continue[s] to do nothing”.

He added that EA investigators visited the site within a week of the clean-up, and the organisation sent a letter threatening prosecution for doing the work without a permit.

The EA investigation is understood to be considering all aspects that would normally be covered by an environmental permit.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "We deeply care about protecting rivers like the Roding, and our permitting processes exist precisely to prevent environmental harm or increased flood risk. 

"We are investigating unpermitted works carried out by the River Roding Trust to ensure all activity in and around our waterways is properly assessed and the environment is protected - no decision has been made on prosecution. 

“It is right that we respond to pollution incidents across the catchment, working in partnership with landowners, councils and water companies to ensure these rivers recover and flourish.”

Adam Carey