Environment Agency issues warning letter over unpermitted river clean-up to trust set up by barrister

The regulator found that work coordinated by the River Roding Trust, founded by Garden Court Chambers barrister Paul Powlesland, caused environmental damage. However, it has decided against pursuing the prosecution it had previously warned could follow.

News of the Environment Agency's investigation emerged last week after Powlesland revealed he had been threatened with prosecution over the works.

The investigation focused on a 10-day clean-up carried out by the trust on a 250-metre stretch of the River Roding at Alders Brook in north-east London. Volunteers removed rubbish and what Powlesland described as "sludge" from the waterway.

The Environment Agency said its investigation found that the work, carried out in March this year, damaged wildlife habitats and contributed to the spread of invasive Japanese knotweed because appropriate biosecurity protocols were not followed.

The regulator also cited a separate incident in July last year, alleging that the trust gained unauthorised access to private land and damaged a flood defence at Hertford Road that protects nearby homes and businesses.

The Environment Agency said it has issued a warning letter to the trust following the investigation.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "Ultimately, this isn't just about permits. It's about trying to prevent actual damage to the environment we are all seeking to improve.

"The Environment Agency and River Roding Trust share the same goal of protecting the River Roding. We have invited the trust to meet with us, and we look forward to discussing next steps with them, including helping the trust navigate the permit process."

The agency said it had visually confirmed that dredging carried out on Alders Brook did not comply with environmental regulations and had damaged the riverbed and banks by deepening and widening the channel.

It added that the work disturbed sediment, potentially releasing polluting silt that was carried downstream.

Responding to the Environment Agency's decision, Powlesland said it was a "relief" that the regulator had recognised that "prosecuting volunteers for cleaning & restoring a river […] without permission was not a good look".

However, he claimed the dispute highlighted wider failures in the protection of the River Roding.

"This is, however, not the end of the story. The River Roding & its tributaries, like most rivers in the UK, have still been abandoned & in parts left to die by the Environment Agency, with no plans to even put a stop to the serious environmental crimes taking place (like illegal sewage dumping), let alone to begin the process of restoration that the river so desperately needs.

"I am therefore seeking a meeting with the EA's Chief Executive to ask (1) that the EA instead use its prosecuting powers for good, to demand a detailed plan from Thames Water to fix all illegal sewage discharges in years, not decades & (2) that the EA turns this whole saga into a good outcome by using the River Roding as a pilot scheme for how the EA can work with, rather than against, grassroots river guardians, to provide the protection & restoration our rivers so desperately need."

Adam Carey