A number of projects will receive money for ongoing environmental work and conservation
Silt blasted out the drains of a housing development in Yate polluted the nearby watercourse(Image: Environment Agency )
A construction group which polluted a river on the outskirts of Bristol has been ordered to pay over £200,000.
BDW Trading, which is part of the Barratt Redrow Group, polluted the Ladden Brook and Tanhouse stream over six days in July, 2022, the Environment Agency said.
Silt from the Ladden Garden Village development entered the stream after a contractor jet washed while cleaning and surveying land drainage.
BDW Trading acknowledged their responsibility and spent over £180,000 on removing the pollution, training staff, and implementing better practices on managing surface water.
Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust will benefit £165k for the the River Chew catchment fish recovery project, a community engagement project and eDNA fish monitoring.
The Tanhouse stream after silt entered the watercourse(Image: Environment Agency )
The Tortworth Forest Centre in Gloucestershire will receive £11,500 for a woodland wellbeing programme and tree planting and Avon Wildlife Trust will receive £25k for the costs of a community ecologist.
BDW Trading also paid the Environment Agency’s costs and acquired a permit to make sure water discharges are properly regulated.
James Edees of the Environment Agency said: “An incident like this would have never happened with proper procedure in place.
“But BDW Trading’s response to cleaning up the mess and investment in preventing it from happening again means we can accept an enforcement undertaking on this occasion.
“This means environmental causes will get money to continue their good work and we can draw a line under this issue.”