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.
They hired a digger for £1,000 and filled over 200 bags of rubbish including packaging, needles, domestic appliances and even weapons.
But shortly after the clear-up he received a letter from the Environment Agency (EA) saying he was under investigation for operating without a licence.
The offence carries a maximum punishment of two years in prison.
He could also lose his job as an environmental lawyer.
But Paul, who lives on a houseboat on the river, has vowed to carry on – and called on the EA to work with him instead.
“This river will be restored – they now have a clear choice,” he said. “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 other volunteers with his grass roots charity the River Roding Trust took to a side channel of the river in March to clear out rubbish and invasive species in order to restore it for wildlife.
Together, they took out over 200 bags of rubbish – and even spent £1,000 to hire a digger to assist with the clean-up.
But days after finishing the work, before Paul had even publicised the results, he received an e-mail from the government watchdog warning him that he was under investigation.
“I hadn’t even posted about the works publicly, only in our private Facebook group,” he said.
“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 targeted elsewhere and that, as volunteers, they shouldn’t have to spend their own money and jump through regulatory hurdles just to put in their own time to clean things up.
He points to a Thames Water sewage outlet, around 200 metres upstream from the restored Alders Brook site, which he says is usually ‘spewing’ sewage into the water.
The water company says its outlet conforms to the law.
The ecosystem is coming back to life
Paul said the group’s clean-up has led to the waterway ‘coming back to life’.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
“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 said: “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 said: “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.
“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.
“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.”
