Paul Powlesland, 40, and a group of volunteers filled over 200 bags of rubbish from the River Roding in Barking, East London
Paul is currently being investigated for acting without a permit
A barrister is facing prosecution by the Environment Agency for pulling rubbish out of a local river. Paul Powlesland, 40, and a group of volunteers took matters into their own hands to clear a section of the River Roding in Barking, East London.
The group hired a digger for £1,000 and filled over 200 bags of rubbish including packaging, needles, domestic appliances and even weapons. However, shortly after the clean-up, Paul received a letter from the Environment Agency (EA) notifying him he was under investigation for operating without a licence.
The offence carries a maximum punishment of two years in prison, and he could also lose his job as an environmental lawyer. Despite this, Paul, who lives on a houseboat on the river, has pledged to press on – urging the EA to collaborate with him rather than pursue legal action.
He said: “This river will be restored – they now have a clear choice. They can fight me and all the other amazing volunteers doing the work, or they can get on board and help us, and become the good guys in this. I don’t think they’re going to win this in the court of public opinion. Fight us, or come on board with us.”
Paul and fellow volunteers from his grassroots charity, the River Roding Trust, descended on a side channel of the river in March to remove rubbish and invasive species in a bid to restore the waterway for wildlife – hauling out over 200 bags of waste and spending £1,000 on hiring a digger to assist with the effort. However, just days after completing the restoration work – before Paul had even announced the results publicly – he received an e-mail from the government watchdog informing him that he was under investigation.
He said: “I hadn’t even posted about the works publicly, only in our private Facebook group. So it seems like there’s EA spies in our Facebook group, spying on local people restoring a river. I don’t see how else they would have known, there’s no other way they could have known.”
The barrister says he wants the agency’s enforcement priorities directed elsewhere, arguing that volunteers shouldn’t have to dip into their own pockets and navigate regulatory red tape simply to give up their time to clean up the local environment He highlights a Thames Water sewage outlet, roughly 200 metres upstream from the restored Alders Brook site, which he claims is routinely ‘spewing’ sewage into the water.
The water company maintains that its outlet operates within the bounds of the law. Paul said the group’s clean-up efforts have resulted in the waterway ‘coming back to life’.
He said: “We’ve got irises and reed beds coming back – I saw fish in there for the first time a couple of weeks ago, dragonflies and herons returning. The whole ecosystem is coming back to life, now it’s actually got water rather than just stagnant mud. It’s also got light, because we removed some of the overhanging branches, and this is only the start – we’ll see what will happen in the coming years as the ecosystem comes back to life.”
He added: “This is what we’ve seen over and over again: if you just take away the rubbish and invasive species, get some light back to the river, amazing things happen. It isn’t rocket science, and it isn’t impossible. Even an urban river like the Roding can be ecologically rich and restored for surprisingly little money. It’s just an absolute shame that the authorities don’t listen to those who know the river, know what’s needed, and help us to deliver that, rather than standing in our way constantly.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson responded: “We welcome communities taking steps to improve their local environment, but carrying out works without the required permits is not acceptable. Environmental permits are there to make sure that work does not cause unintended harm – to flood risk, drainage or the wider environment.”
A Thames Water spokesperson commented: “We’re delivering our biggest wastewater network upgrade in 150 years, increasing treatment capacity, reducing storm discharges, and introducing nutrient-reduction schemes. Clean, safe rivers are a shared priority, and we support efforts to improve water quality. We’re committed to helping waterways thrive, but farming, industry, road run-off and increasingly extreme weather also affect river health.”
The spokesperson added: “Similarly to the outfalls at our sewage treatment works, Combined Sewer Outfalls (CSOs) on the River Roding operate within limits set by the Environment Agency and are a legally permitted process of the wastewater system. These discharges are heavily diluted by rainwater, and the system was originally designed this way to prevent sewage from backing up into people’s homes during periods of intense rainfall.”
They added: “We take our responsibility to monitor and maintain our wastewater network seriously and understands the concerns raised by Mr Powlesland and the residents of the area. We actively encourage reports of any outfalls potentially polluting waterways and will always investigate them fully.”
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