Winvic fined £160,000 for polluting brook

Grant Prior 3 months ago
Share

Winvic has been fined £160,000 for polluting a brook while working on the East Midlands Gateway development site.

The contractor admitted causing pollution at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court yesterday following a prosecution by the Environment Agency.

Winvic was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £25,577.79.

The court was told that the company were contractors at the site near Kegworth when Hemington Brook became highly turbid and discoloured with clay solids.

A biological survey revealed that the discharge of contaminated run off from the site had caused “gross and chronic” pollution adversely affecting invertebrates.

A member of the public alerted the Environment Agency when the brook started “running red with silt pollution” on or before 27 September 2019.

The source was traced to an outfall near the development site which was the responsibility of the company.

Staff told officers from the Environment Agency that a drain blocker had failed. This had allowed the contaminated contents of two ponds to drain and discharge into the brook via a flood attenuation basin.

Officers from the Environment Agency attended the site again on September 30 2019, and found that the discharge had not been stopped.

The Court accepted that the offence was due in part to unprecedented rainfall in the local area.

Ian Firkins, senior environment manager for the Environment Agency’s East Midlands Area, said: “We welcome this sentence which should act as a deterrent to other companies who breach environmental legislation.

“As a regulator, the Environment Agency will not hesitate to pursue companies that fail to meet its obligations to the environment.”

A Winvic spokesperson said: “We acknowledge and regret the discharge of surface water containing Mercia Mudstone held in the East Midlands Gateway (EMG) site’s ponds into Hemington Brook in August 2019. Whilst Industry defined and agreed best practice mitigation measures were in place at the site, a number of factors combined to leave Winvic – in the words of the Court, “between a rock and a hard place”.

“Due to the acknowledged heaviest period of rainfall in the area since records began, significant volumes of water built up in the approved siltation ponds on the site. This unforeseen event unfortunately attracted large numbers of migrating birds which presented a very real and potentially fatal risk of a bird-strike at the adjacent East Midlands Airport, conflicting with the requirement from the Environment Agency (EA) to hold and clean water prior to discharge.

“The decision was therefore taken to discharge water from the ponds in order to avoid the possibility of a more catastrophic event occurring – hence the “rock and a hard place” comment above. However, we accept that in doing so water containing suspended solids of Mercia Mudstone was discharged into Hemington Brook.

“Nonetheless, we have welcomed working with the EA throughout the process to ensure lessons could be learned and applied across the business. Winvic is committed to ‘Doing It Right’ and strives for continuous improvement in all areas. We continue to liaise with the EA on numerous projects to achieve successful outcomes.”

 

Latest news

£500m southern highways framework up for renewal

Ten firms face fight to retain places on major councils roads framework
24 hours ago

Engineering losses halve Briggs & Forrester profit

Main engineering services arm suffers £1.6m loss
1 day ago

Plans in for University of East London campus expansion

Work to start in early 2024 on 280,000 sq ft Stratford teaching and student rooms scheme
1 day ago

CITB told to improve by Ofsted inspectors

Number of in-house apprentices drops as training body changes business model
1 day ago

IHP wins £100m Derbyshire mental health projects

Vinci/McAlpine JV will build two 54-bed Adult Acute Care units
23 hours ago

Align hits key milestone on HS2 Colne Valley viaduct

Engineers rise to the challenge to complete first V-piers in lakes
1 day ago

£9.3bn race starts for National Grid construction partners

Plan for Great Grid Upgrade Partnership to be set out at bidders day in early June
2 days ago

Plan approved to redevelop major Glasgow shopping mall

Outline plan backed for demolition of St Enoch centre for over 900 homes, shops and leisure space
2 days ago

Banned demolition boss wins appeal to remain a director

Paul Cluskey wins Court appeal to remain director of Cantillon but steps down as MD
3 days ago

B&K confirms £140m Leeds build to rent project

Work to start on Whitehall Riverside twin blocks for client Glenbrook
2 days ago

McLaren Property to revamp Liverpool roller skating site

242-bed student scheme unveiled for sensitive site
2 days ago

Wates names Midlands construction chief

Matt Johnson promoted after just 10 months at family-owned builder
3 days ago

Glencar lands £28m Peel Ports Liverpool shed job

240,000 sq ft Alexandra Docks warehouse will be five football pitches long
3 days ago

Private equity giant buys United Living

US based investment group Apollo makes latest swoop on UK construction market
3 days ago

Quartet secure Thirteen Group £500m new homes deal

Esh, Morris & Spottiswood, ReGen and Henry Boot secure spots on new build framework
3 days ago

Luton Town FC to start new stadium before end of 2023

Talks already underway with contractors ahead of submission for detailed planning this summer
3 days ago

Plans for renovation of historic Cardiff Market

Subject to planning and final funding work could start next year
3 days ago

£53m race to cut Magnox reactor buildings down to size

Trawsfynydd reactor buildings to be reduced in height by a third
3 days ago

Cyclist dies in lorry collision outside Keltbray site

Work shut down after fatal collision with truck delivering to central London site
7 days ago

Another demolition director banned after bid rigging probe

Brown and Mason boss becomes fourth director disqualified after cartel investigation
7 days ago

Five hospitals at risk of collapse added to new build programme

Weak concrete crisis and soaring costs force £20bn hospital programme rethink
1 week ago

Scottish South West Hub names new partners

Balfour Beatty joins construction partners for first time
7 days ago

RC frame specialist Getjar revenue tops £100m again

Profit margins nearly halved in face of labour and material price rises
7 days ago

London’s Camden Council advances £470m King’s Cross scheme

Camley Street scheme to consist of 350 homes and 200,000 sq ft of offices
1 week ago

Vinci issues fraud alert to suppliers

Subcontractors targeted by scammers posing as main contractor
1 week ago

Solar panels set to cover commercial buildings

Latest government taskforce targets power potential of non-residential roofs
7 days ago

Quantum Construction collapse costs suppliers £4.3m

Liquidator reveals scale of debts at Staffordshire contractor
1 week ago

Jaguar Land Rover set to build huge gigafactory in Somerset

The vast battery plant would be one of the biggest buildings in the UK
1 week ago

Tender race starts for £95m Victoria Tower repair job

Up to five firms will be invited to bid with work set to start by end of next year
1 week ago

Go-ahead for Brum iconic curved truss HS2 bridge

Balfour Beatty Vinci will carry out one of the largest bridge launches in the UK
1 week ago

Contractor services