A ground-breaking community-led legal action against alleged polluters of the River Wye will now include one of England and Wales’s biggest water and sewerage companies in the claim.
Leading environmental law firm Leigh Day, which is working on behalf of members of the community who joined the claim in the area, announced Welsh Water has been added as a defendant to the case.
The claim is also expanding its geographical catchment to include the rivers Lugg and Usk, which have also been impacted by pollution, and which are equally important to the area’s ecology, economy and community.
Leigh Day Partner Oliver Holland explained: “We continue to believe that excessive phosphorus from the spreading of chicken manure as a result of industrial-scale chicken production by Avara Foods Limited, Freemans of Newent and Cargill PLC, is the main cause of pollution, but we believe that sewage pollution by Welsh Water is the second largest single source of pollution affecting the Wye catchment.
“Following further investigation and the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Manchester Ship Canal v United Utilities, we have decided to add Welsh Water to the claim as a defendant for its alleged role in polluting the rivers.”
It is alleged that Welsh Water’s contribution to the pollution of the Wye is significant, with Welsh Water recording 107 pollution incidents in 2023-24, up from 89 the year before. In June 2024, the company was also fined £90,000 by the Environment Agency for exceeding permitted levels of sewage effluent into the River Wye from the Kingstone and Madley sewage treatment works.
The legal action was launched in March 2024 in the wake of changes to the Wye and its tributaries, which have reportedly affected wildlife, tourism, property owners, recreation and local businesses. These changes were recognised by the government nature watchdog Natural England who downgraded the river to “unfavourable – declining”. This is only two stages away from the Wye being listed as “destroyed”.
The legal claim was initially brought against Avara Foods and other members of the Cargill UK group as it is alleged that their intensive poultry operations in the Wye area have created excess phosphorus from chicken manure. The River Wye region has been at the centre of a major UK chicken industry expansion, with a quarter of UK chickens reported to be in the Wye.
More than 2,000 people, individuals and businesses, have signed up to join the legal action and are seeking the end to the rivers’ pollution, the restoration of the rivers and compensation for losses they have suffered. Leigh Day has opened an office in Hereford City Centre to serve its clients in the area.
Lawyers at Leigh Day made the first legal move in July with a ‘letter before action’ sent to Avara Foods, Freemans of Newent and Cargill PLC, in a bid to allow the companies to resolve the dispute before court proceedings begin.
Mr Holland explained: “However, the companies have made it clear they intend to defend the claim, and so we will now be carrying on through to issuing the claim, with court proceedings to follow.
“We are continuing to build the number of clients supporting the action as more and more people are joining every day. We expect 2025 to be incredibly busy.”
Welsh Water’s addition as a defendant is another “significant step”, added Mr Holland. Welsh Water is a sewage and water treatment company for Wales and the West Midlands of England, including the River Wye catchment.
“We have decided to include Welsh Water because while we were aware that sewage was an issue in the area, our further investigations over recent months have made it clear to us it is a greater problem than we initially understood,” he explained.
“In some areas, such as the River Lugg region, sewage is a significant part of the problem.”
He added: “It is important that the biggest alleged polluters are part of the claim.”
Recent developments in UK law have added weight to the legal argument, explained Mr Holland.
“Last year, the Supreme Court held that private citizens can bring actions under the laws of nuisance or trespass over polluting discharges, even if there has been no negligence or misconduct,” he said.
“This sends a really important message to those whose lives and livelihoods are impacted by large-scale polluters.”
People living and working in communities around the Wye, Lugg and Usk are “angry and frustrated”, said Mr Holland.
“We have had a very emotive response from people and that is easy to understand,” he said. “These are people who have used the rivers all of their lives, whether for fishing, or swimming, or their livelihoods, or just to enjoy nature. People say their daily lives are impacted by pollution.”
“That is a very powerful argument for change.”
He added: “This is the first case of its kind in the UK and we are hopeful that we will be able to help not just the communities on the Rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk, but also in other areas of the UK where pollution whether through sewage or agricultural practices, is causing significant problems to communities.”
Leigh Day is bringing the claim on a no-win, no-fee basis. Those joining the claim will not have to pay anything to Leigh Day if they lose.
There is no upfront fee to join the claim. To join the claim or find out more about the environmental impact of the pollution and the group legal action, visit www.leighday.co.uk/riverwyeclaim.
The River Wye legal team are hosting a Q&A event at The Left Bank Village, Bridge Street, Hereford, HRF 9DG on Thursday 20 February, 19:00 – 21:00. Reserve your free space by visiting https://leighdaylaw.info/RiverWyeClaimQA