‘The government, its water regulator and the Environment Agency could all be taken to court over their failure to tackle sewage dumping in England after a watchdog found failures to comply with the law.’
The Guardian 17th December 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The privatised English water system has been singled out for criticism by the UN special rapporteur on the human right to clean water.’
The Guardian, 9th October 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Campaigners will be taking on Shropshire Council in the High Court as a seven-year dispute over an industrial-scale chicken farm continues.’
BBC News, 3rd october 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Proposed new legislation described by government as delivering a “significant increase in enforcement powers” against water companies, could delay rather than speed up industry action to address environmental concerns because of the broad way it has been drafted, water industry experts have warned.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th September 2024
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Water bosses in England and Wales could be jailed for up to two years if they cover up sewage dumping, under legislation proposed by the Labour government.’
The Guardian, 4th September 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbrian Water will be fined a record £168m between them for a “catalogue of failure” over illegal sewage discharges into rivers and the sea after the industry regulator’s biggest ever investigation.’
The Guardian, 6th August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Paul Powlesland was not far off quoting Shakespeare when he became probably the first juror in history to swear a legal oath on a river.’
BBC News, 2nd August 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Winston Churchill once remarked that “[for] my own part, I see little glory in an Empire which can rule the waves and is unable to flush its sewers”. Had he been alive today, he may have lamented that modern Britain now does neither.’
Francis Taylor Building, 18th July 2024
Source: www.ftbchambers.co.uk
‘The Supreme Court in Manchester Ship Canal (No.2) [2024] UKSC 22 has decided that a riparian owner will have a right of action in private nuisance against a water company for discharge of foul water, without needing to show the water company’s negligence or deliberate misconduct. This is a substantial clarification of Marcic v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2003] UKHL 66, which (it was thought) decided that such claims were barred against sewerage undertakers by the existence of the statutory scheme following privatisation. This decision may mark the beginning of group litigation against sewerage undertakers for discharging untreated sewage into rivers and canals.’
Henderson Chambers, 12th July 2024
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘Absent negligence or deliberate misconduct, can owners of watercourses or bodies of water bring actions for nuisance or trespass where water is polluted from statutory sewerage undertakers?’
Lamb Chambers, July 2024
Source: www.lambchambers.co.uk
‘The High Court has dismissed the first challenge to an Inspector’s decision which refused planning permission for a development on grounds of water neutrality. Matt Lewin explains why.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th July 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Supreme Court’s ruling that a canal owner can seek redress for unauthorised discharges of foul water by a sewage utility could open the floodgates to “thousands” of similar claims.’
Law Society's Gazette, 9th July 2024
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Annabel Graham Paul looks at a recent judgment that clarifies the approach to carrying out Appropriate Assessments under the Habitats Regulations when considering planning permission.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th July 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Water companies have the upper hand after the first stage of a High Court claim brought by conveyancing search providers claiming to have been overcharged for a decade.’
Legal Futures, 1st July 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Campaigners fighting to stop sewage discharges into Windermere, the Lake District’s largest lake, have made a statutory nuisance complaint against a water company in the first legal action of its kind.’
The Guardian, 26th June 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A water company fined £90,000 for dumping sewage into a river has been unable to explain two of the spillages.’
The Independent, 22nd June 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The High Court (Dove J.) has today handed down an important judgment in R (River Action) v Environment Agency [2024] EWHC 1279 (Admin), dismissing a challenge to the Environment Agency’s (‘EA’) policy on the enforcement of the “Farming Rules for Water” (properly ‘the Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018’).’
Francis Taylor Building, 24th May 2024
Source: www.ftbchambers.co.uk
‘The government’s efforts to clean up England’s rivers, lakes and seas have been criticised by a key environmental watchdog as “poor”.’
BBC News, 9th May 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘An inquest jury has found there were “gross failings in care amounting to neglect” before a woman had a heart attack at a private mental health hospital due to complications from drinking excessive amounts of water.’
The Guardian, 24th April 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A compensation claim has been launched against Avara, one of the UK’s biggest food producers, for allegedly damaging the River Wye.’
BBC News, 19th March 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2024