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Employment Law

Whistle-blowing banker seeking millions (22/02/2012)

Because Edward Willems blew the whistle on some of his colleagues, his bonuses in 2010 and 2011 were “inappropriately low”, his lawyer Tom Croxford told a London employment tribunal.

Investment banker Willems, the former deputy head of fixed income markets at Credit Agricole’s corporate and investment banking unit, was “subjected to detriment as a result of making protected disclosure” and subsequently dismissed, Croxford claimed.

According to Credit Agricole’s lawyer Nicholas Randall, Willems “is seeking millions of pounds”.

In the UK the law protects employees from being fired or punished should they reveal malpractice in the public interest.

Although no details of Mr Willems’ concerns have been revealed, it is probable he believed his colleagues’ conduct could be categorised as “improper, illegal or negligent behaviour”.

Bosses want redundancy consultations reduced to 30 days (21/02/2012)

The TUC has responded angrily to CBI proposals to reduce to 30 days the minimum 90-day period for consulting unions or workplace representatives if 100 or more redundancies are planned.

The CBI claims the present timescale is “simply too long”, making it harder for companies to restore their business to health and prolonging uncertainty for workers.

In contrast, the TUC say the 90-day period ensures sufficient time to explore alternatives to redundancy, such as obtaining new orders or making efficiency savings.

According to TUC general secretary Brendan Barber the current consultation period enables both unions and employers to “decrease the number of job losses, avoid compulsory redundancies and ensure the redundancy process is fair.”

It also allows companies the opportunity to “retain skilled staff and maintain morale amongst remaining staff”, he added.

John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, disagreed:

“The UK’s collective redundancy rules are archaic and damaging to UK firms,” he complained. “Businesses need confidence that when redundancies are necessary to save the business, and hundreds of other jobs, they can be conducted in a swift and fair manner, rather than stringing out the process to hit an arbitrary 90 day time period.

“A 90 day consultation period may have been necessary when correspondence was conducted via post,” he conceded, “but modern technology has rendered such long periods obsolete.

“Of course firms considering large scale redundancies should consult their staff, but effective consultations can be undertaken in a much shorter time period. Any firm wishing to take longer to consult than the statutory minimum would still be free to do so, as they are now.”

Business secretary Vince Cable has issued a “call for evidence” on collective redundancy rules as part of his review of workplace law.

Hoffa warns Balfour Beatty chief executive (16/02/2012)

Ian Tyler, chief executive of construction company Balfour Beatty plc, has received a warning letter from James P Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union in the United States.

Mr Hoffa is objecting to Balfour Beatty wanting to alter contracts of employment with some of their employees in the United Kingdom.

His members have already held a demonstration alongside members of the Laborer’s Union and the United Association outside the head office of Balfour Beatty’s American subsidiary, Parsons Brinckerhoff, in New York.

In his letter Mr Hoffa tells Mr Tyler:

“We have a long and shared history of solidarity with Unite and we are committed to provide the full backing of the Teamsters for the duration of the dispute.”

He then warns:

“If this dispute is not resolved to the satisfaction of my colleagues in the UK we will have no option but to demonstrate our support.”

Then, addressing Mr Tyler personally, he adds:

“I am requesting in the strongest terms that you now personally intervene in this dispute and demand that the management of BBES change course.”

The United Association is a trade union of journeyman and apprentices undertaking plumbing, pipefitting and sprinkler fitting.

James P Hoffa was first elected General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in December 1998, taking office on 19 March 1999. He was subsequently re-elected for five-year terms in 2001, 2006 and 2011.

He is the only son of Jimmy Hoffa, a previous president of the Teamsters, who was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery and fraud in 1964. Sentenced to 13 years, he was later pardoned by President Richard Nixon.

Polish workers win £250K claim for docked wages (16/02/2012)

Despite being awarded £251,204 by an employment tribunal, fourteen migrant workers from Poland may never receive their money.

The men were employed as laggers by thermal insulation contractor Darmar on the construction of the Uskmouth power station in Newport.

But, the Cardiff tribunal heard, they were incorrectly paid for overtime, had a day of lodging allowance money deducted each week, and did not receive leave payments for seven months.

Each is due to receive around £18,000 in compensation.

“The order is enforceable in the UK,” explained Jeff Beck of the GMB union representing the men, “but the employer has now closed their offices and left the UK.

“That makes it impossible to enforce the order while they are out of the UK,” he added.

The money was due through national agreements during the construction of the power station, said Mr Beck.

“We looked at their payslips and the amounts of money being paid into their bank accounts, which just didn’t tally.

“We raised this with the auditor on site and then it came to light that these people were being exploited and receiving substantially less than they should’ve received.”

According to the GMB, another 70 workers, who were not union members, also suffered similar pay deductions.

Manchester NHS trust was guilty of racial discrimination (14/02/2012)

After being dismissed by Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Elliott Browne was awarded just over £1 million in compensation.

But the Trust chose to appeal.

However the Employment Appeal Tribunal has now dismissed that appeal, ruling the trust was responsible for racial discrimination against the former NHS divisional director.

The tribunal concluded Gill Heaton, the trust’s deputy chief executive ‘had not provided a cogent or satisfactory explanation’ as to why she treated Mr Browne differently from two white divisional directors when it came to departmental over-spends.

Speaking after the judgement Mr Browne said:

“I am pleased that the Employment Appeal Tribunal has dismissed the trust’s appeal. Hopefully, my case will demonstrate to other NHS trust managers that racial discrimination won’t be tolerated. I now wish to move on with my life.”

Regional officer for the Unite union Keith Hutson added:

“The fact that the trust’s appeal has been dismissed completely vindicates the principled stand that Elliot has taken over the last five years – and shows that NHS trusts can’t get away with this sort of outrageous behaviour.”

Unite said that the black Caribbean population in central Manchester was 6.9 per cent, yet only represented 0.7 per cent of the trust’s workforce, or 69 staff out of a total 9,341.

The trust’s own statistics, produced for the tribunal, also showed that black employees at the trust were eight times more likely to be sacked than white employees.

The union described this as “a shocking indictment of the trust’s management's failure to tackle the issues raised by this litigation”.

Health and Safety in the Workplace

“Unionised workplaces are the safest workplaces” (22/02/2012)

“Unionised workplaces are the safest workplaces.”

That’s the claim made by Cath Speight, Unite national officer.

Despite offering no evidence to substantiate her claim, Ms Speight went on to argue the case for proactive health and safety inspections of Britain’s farms.

With what the union describes as a “staggering” one in five workplace deaths happening on Britain’s farms, Ms Speight said:

“Unite has repeatedly called for the introduction of roving safety reps to visit farms. These shocking statistics are the biggest argument for that issue to be raised again.

“Other high-risk industries, particularly construction, have seen death and accident rates fall over the years. But this has not happened in agriculture and, for many years now, Britain’s farms have been the most dangerous workplaces in the land.

“It is the responsibility of the employer, the farmer, to see that all safety procedures and legislation are followed and that all employees fully understand safety instructions, including causal and migrant workers whose first language may not be English and may have difficulty understanding what they are being told.

“If roving reps could visit and see that farmers are complying with health and safety legislation, we believe this high level of accidents and deaths would be reduced,” she concluded.

However the government has already stated in its policy document ‘Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone’ that, despite farming being a cause for concern, agriculture is an industry “where proactive inspection is unlikely to be effective”.

Wrong kind of registration costs Ascot gas fitter (21/02/2012)

At some point between 1st and 14th August 2009 Philip Payne carried out a commercial catering gas installation in the kitchen at The Swinley pub in Ascot.

Although registered with Gas Safe Register for work on domestic boilers, Reading Magistrates’ Court was told, Mr Payne was not registered to work on commercial catering installations, which require a different set of competencies.

Mr Payne, who trades as Wentworth Plumbing and Heating, failed to do the work in line with appropriate standards, leaving it at risk.

The court heard the faulty work was discovered by an engineer carrying out repairs to the cooking range under warranty.

The engineer filed a RIDDOR report and Gas Safe Register and the HSE investigated.

HSE inspector Ray Kelly commented:

“Mr Payne was competent and registered to carry out work on domestic boilers, but not on gas-fired commercial catering equipment, which has very different requirements.

“There are rules, regulations and standards to be aware of which don’t apply to domestic settings,” he explained.

“An engineer who is Gas Safe Registered for commercial catering work would have the necessary training to carry out this installation correctly.

“While the installation was not immediately dangerous,” he conceded, “the failures meant that it could become unsafe if faults developed.”

After pleading guilty to breaching Regulations 3(3) and 5(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Philip Payne, of Brook Avenue, Ruby Brook, Ascot, was fined £1,300 in total and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.

Roof fall kills 76-year-old from Cheetham Hill (20/02/2012)

Before being asked to help fix a new advertising sign to the roof of GB Autos, the owner of the business warned 76-year-old Mohammed Hashim that the roof was fragile.

Even so, the work on the premises on the Longsight Industrial Estate in Manchester went ahead.

Having finished the task Mr Hashim was making his way back across the sloping roof to the ladder when the skylight gave way.

He fell four metres, landing on the concrete floor of the MOT bay below.

Two weeks later, on 22 February 2009, he died from his injuries in hospital, having never regained consciousness.

Speaking after the hearing at Manchester Crown Court, HSE investigating inspector Matt Greenly commented:

“It’s almost unbelievable that Mohammed Hashim was asked to climb onto the roof when the owner of Quality Exhaust knew it wasn’t safe.

“It simply isn’t good enough to warn someone about a danger if no action is taken to prevent it. The company should have found another way of installing the sign without putting lives at risk.”

Vehicle repair firm Quality Exhaust Supplies and Fitting Service Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 in prosecution costs.

Severed fingers land Cheshire company in court (20/02/2012)

Nearly 20 years ago the Health and Safety Executive first issued guidance warning of the dangers of wearing gloves while using metalworking lathes.

The same guidance also warned against using an emery cloth to polish metal components unless absolutely necessary and, if it was, for workers to avoid holding the cloth in their hands.

The risk of injury, Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court was told, is well known in the manufacturing industry.

Yet on 24 March 2010 a 34-year-old employee from Stockport lost two fingers as a result of an incident at the Proseal (UK) Limited factory on the Adlington Industrial Estate.

The worker was polishing a 12-centimetre-long piece of metal on a lathe, spinning at up to 850 revolutions a minute, when his right hand was dragged into the mechanism, severing his ring and middle fingers to the second knuckle.

The subsequent HSE investigation discovered that the company, which manufactures tray-sealing machines for the food industry, had both failed to give the employee any training on how to safely polish the aluminium machine parts, as well as allowing him to wear gloves.

Speaking after the hearing HSE investigating inspector Lisa Lewis said:

“This was a needless injury which could easily have been avoided if Proseal had followed health and safety guidance.

“The company now uses pre-polished aluminium whenever it can, and has a few specially-trained members of staff who can safely touch up finished machine components when necessary.”

Proseal (UK) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees.

The company was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £3,807 in prosecution costs.

Worker at Coalville component manufacturer loses fingers (20/02/2012)

A 46-year-old worker from Coalville was clearing a blockage around the heated nozzle of a 20 tonnes injection-moulding machine on 4 March 2010, when the nozzle was pushed through his left hand.

The man, who asked not to be named, was working at the Coalville factory of Schlegel Automotive Europe, a firm specialising in the manufacture of rubber components for the automotive industry.

His injuries were such that all four fingers of his hand had to be amputated, and only the thumb remains fully intact.

Naturally left-handed, he is now unable to carry out some simple everyday tasks, and he has been off work for 17 months.

The subsequent Health and Safety Executive investigation found the machine was in a poor state of repair.

An interlock system on the guard, that should have prevented the incident, had not been maintained. Consequently it failed to operate properly.

Leicester Magistrates’ Court was told an audit found safety improvements to a number of other injection-moulding machines in the factory were also necessary.

“This,” said HSE inspector Dr Richenda Dixon, “was an incident waiting to happen. The guard should have been interlocked to prevent workers being able to access dangerous hot moving parts of the injection moulder.

“It appears the interlock system may have been broken for several years. There had been a system for checking and recording that machinery guards were in full working order, but it had fallen by the wayside.

“There was no clear system of work as to how employees were meant to remove hot waste rubber. This task needed to be done several times a shift.”

Schlegel Automotive Europe Limited, of Beveridge Lane, Bardon Hill, Coalville, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The company was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £6,584.

Construction Health and Safety

HSE to target construction sites in coming weeks (21/02/2012)

Between 20 February and 16 March the HSE will be undertaking an intensive inspection initiative aimed at reducing death, injury and ill health.

Inspectors will be visiting sites where refurbishment or repair works are being carried out.

This, the HSE say, is part of a national month-long drive to improve standards in one of the Britain's most dangerous industries.

The inspectors will primarily focus on such high-risk activities as working at height and also 'good order', for example ensuring sites are clean and tidy with clear access routes.

The initiative is intended to remind those working in construction that poor standards are unacceptable, and could result in enforcement action.

Philip White, HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, commented:

“The refurbishment sector continues to be the most risky for construction workers, all too often straightforward practical precautions are not considered and workers are put at risk.

“In many cases simple changes to working practices can make all the difference,” he added.

Cardiff property manager fined for asbestos failings (20/02/2012)

When Richard Hayward assumed management responsibility for the former Rhondda Pressing building owned by Guinevere Holdings Limited on the Penygraig Industrial Estate, he failed to check whether asbestos might be present.

Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court was told Mr Hayward, who trades as Richard Hayward Properties, let out part of the building in 2007. But it was not until 2008, when a request to provide an asbestos survey for insurance purposes was made, that the presence of asbestos insulating board roof tiles and brown and blue asbestos was first identified.

The court was told that between 2005 and 2008, three companies occupied the premises. During this time, structural work to install a partition wall was completed and contractors were hired to carry out electrical works at the site.

Apart from those undertaking the work, any person in the vicinity, including tenants, were at risk of exposure to asbestos, due to its poor condition.

“Mr Hayward,” declared HSE inspector Lee Schilling, “could have prevented the risk of exposing persons to asbestos if he had simply considered whether or not asbestos was present when he first took over control of the building and, having confirmed its presence, passed on relevant information to those who were liable to disturb it.

“For Mr Hayward not to inform relevant persons that asbestos was present demonstrated a major failing in his management procedures at that time,” he added.

Mr Hayward, of Adventurers’ Quay, Cardiff Bay, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.

Romanian worker falls seven metres from Belgravia roof (16/02/2012)

On 7 March 2011 Vasile Ionel Vatca was working on a major refurbishment project at Eaton Mews North in Belgravia.

His employers, Harrow based R & G Construction Limited, had been contracted to replace the roof and construct a basement.

The 28-year-old from Romania was on top of the roof, clearing up debris left over from earlier construction work.

His only means of access was a ladder reaching no further than the lower part of the roof.

When the time came for Mr Vacta to descend he began to climb down the ladder. As he did so, it fell away from the building. Losing his footing he fell about seven metres to the ground, breaking his leg, heel and wrist. Hospitalised for a week, he has yet to return to work and is now registered disabled.

The subsequent HSE investigation established both employees and subcontractors had previously been protected from falling from the roof by scaffolding, but this had been removed some weeks earlier.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told that despite the site’s fall safety equipment being used after the incident on 7 March, it was found to be entirely inadequate, and workers remained at risk of falling from height.

After pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(a), Regulation 5 and Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, R & G Construction Limited of College Road, Harrow, was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £7,515.

Builder puts people at risk of asbestos exposure (08/02/2012)

“Asbestos,” said HSE inspector Helena Tinton, “is widely known to be a hazardous material and asbestos fibre exposure is linked to a number of serious diseases, including cancer and scarring of the lungs.

“As such,” she explained, “work with materials containing higher risk asbestos, including asbestos insulation board, is a licensed activity with work only carried out by trained people under tightly controlled conditions.

“As a building contractor engaged in refurbishment work, D B Construction should have been aware of this.

“And yet,” she added, “these ceiling boards were removed in an uncontrolled manner over a period of several hours, which resulted in the spread of airborne asbestos fibres inside and outside the property, leaving workers and the family at risk of exposure.”

She was speaking after Chippenham Magistrates’ Court heard how an asbestos insulation board ceiling was being removed from a property in Bradford-on-Avon between 29 November and 10 December 2010.

The house was being refurbished by D B Construction (West Wilts) Limited who, the court was told, had failed to investigate whether asbestos was present in the building before work started.

It was only when an electrician on site raised concerns and arranged for the material to be analysed before he began work that the presence of asbestos was revealed.

But, by that time, some boards had already been removed and broken up by both workers and sub-contractors, releasing airborne asbestos fibres.

Boards and debris were then being removed in open bags and left in the garden in a breach of safety rules.

An analyst visited the site and advised work should cease until the contaminated area had been cleaned of asbestos debris.

The Health and Safety Executive later confirmed the ceiling boards contained both white and the more hazardous brown asbestos, putting employees, subcontractors, the homeowners and their young children at risk of exposure.

After pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, D B Construction (West Wilts) Limited, of Frome Road, Bradford-on-Avon, was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £3,617.50 costs.

Steel beam fatality on construction site in Brentford (08/02/2012)

On the morning of 5 June 2008 35-year-old French national Hugues Makambila was working as a cleaner on a construction site at Harlequin Avenue, Brentford.

A lorry load of steel beams arrived and parked in an area not designated for unloading, adjacent to a pedestrian walkway.

A director of CM Structural Services Limited, who had been contracted by Fisher Engineering Limited, the manufacturers, to erect the structural steelwork, noticed one of the beams was hanging over the right hand side of the lorry. However he did nothing to restrain the load or prevent the beam from falling.

Using a forklift truck, CM Structural Services then began to unload the steel, taking no measures to prevent people walking down the pavement, and posting no warning signs that unloading was taking place.

Mr Makambila was on the pedestrian walkway when a steel beam weighing 1.382 tonnes fell from the lorry and on to him. He died instantly.

At the Old Bailey Fisher Engineering Limited, of Ballinamallard, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £16,595.

CM Structural Services Limited, of Killynure Road, Carryduff, Northern Ireland was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,692.

Both companies pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Environmental

Gloucestershire gasman produced false identity (13/02/2012)

Timothy Smith from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire Magistrates’ Court was told, first inspected and tested the gas pipework and appliances at the Raja Balti restaurant in North Street, Winchcombe.

He then issued the owner with a gas safety inspection report and certificate.

But, at the time when he carried out the work between 25 October and 2 November 2010, he was not suitably qualified to do so.

When enquiries were made with Gas Safe Register, Mr Smith was found to have falsified his documentation to include the number of a registered business with a similar trading name. He had also used the ID card number of a registered engineer with the same surname.

Charged with contravening Regulations 3(3) and 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Timothy Charles Smith, of Queen's Road, Tewkesbury, pleaded guilty and was given a 22 week curfew order and ordered to pay costs of £450.

Gloucestershire company fined for illegal waste operation (13/02/2012)

Responding to complaints from other businesses in the area, an Environment Agency Officer visited a site at Westington Quarry run by Stow Skips Limited on 13 January 2011.

A mixture of construction waste, green waste, soils and general household waste, estimated to total more than 2,000 tonnes, was deposited there.

There was also a large pile of combustible materials piled next to a container that had clearly been used for burning waste.

Stow Skips were sent a letter stating all waste activities should stop immediately, and all waste should be removed from site by the 28th February 2011.

On 28th February officers returned to the premises.

Large quantities of waste were still being stored and sorted on site, and there was no evidence of any material having been removed.

On 1 March 2011 Nicholas Scarsbrook, the owner of Stow Skips Limited, attended an interview under caution

He admitted the company was operating a waste site without a permit, and that waste had previously been burnt at the site despite guidance and warnings given to the company.

After pleading guilty at Gloucester Magistrates’ Court to two charges of operating a regulated waste facility without an environmental permit, and a further charge of disposing of commercial waste by burning, the company was fined a total of £6,000 and ordered to pay £3,572 costs, together with a £15 victim surcharge.

Water company guilty of killing fish. Again. (08/02/2012)

For the fourth time in seven years Seven Trent Water Limited has been held responsible for polluting the Heapham fishing lake in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, killing hundreds of fish.

Most recently, in April 2011, the company failed to clear a blockage in the foul sewer for more than a week because of IT and scheduling errors.

Seven Trent was first alerted to sewage flooding at the Theaker Avenue Nature Reserve by West Lindsey District Council on 29 March.

Sewage and trade effluent had polluted a stream passing through Heapham Lakes and continued in to the River Till, affecting more than three miles of water.

Then, on April 8, the Council’s angling club contacted the Environment Agency. 360 dead fish, including carp, bream, tench and pike, were to be found floating on the surface of the lake.

A water sample showed grossly polluting levels of Biochemical Oxygen Demand some 172 times higher than would be expected in unpolluted water.

Gasping fish needed to rescued.

Previously, in April 2004, pollution killed 7,000 fish. Four months after that, pollution was found again to be killing the fish that were used to restock the lake before, three years later in 2007, there was further pollution.

A service delivery manager for Severn Trent told investigating officers from the Environment Agency that, just before the latest incident, the company had moved to a new method of working.

A compatibility problem with the new IT system used for prioritizing work led to jobs being moved to an error queue, and the incident was not attended to for two days.

Scheduling errors then meant that the blockage in the south sewer was not cleared until 7 April.

A report of sewage flooding would normally be responded to in six hours, he explained.

It was thought the blockage at the back of Dove Close was caused by a discharge of fats combined with rags.

The sewage flooded land at the nature reserve, entered a defective private surface water chamber linked to the network, and was carried to the stream via the surface water outfall at White’s Wood Lane.

He added the company had spent £84,000 on investigating the incident and remediation.

Seven Trent Water said it would pay for the restocking of the lake.

After pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 12(1)(b) and Regulation 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court the company was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £6,884.

Water company pleads guilty to a catalogue of neglect (08/02/2012)

South West Water can boast a history of failures and non-compliance at three sewage treatment works, Bodmin Magistrates were told.

“Even small sewage treatment works’ require maintenance and investment and should not be neglected by site operators,” said Louise Weller for the Environment Agency.

She explained how, when officers inspected one of the works, in Treskinnick, near Bude, Cornwall, on 19 May 2011 they noticed the filter bed was failing to function. The final effluent was ‘odorous and black’, and was polluting a nearby stream.

Copious amounts of sewage fungus were to be found on the bed of the stream, and a sample of final effluent indicated the sewage was poorly treated.

The pollution had killed most of the aquatic life in the stream over a distance of 600 metres, and had also impacted the Wanson Water further down the catchment.

This larger watercourse flows into Widemouth Bay, a popular surfing beach, some 2.5 km from the treatment works.

The Treskinnick works serves a small rural hamlet of around 30 people, and the latest breach follows previous problems in both 2009 and 2010, when the site failed initial inspections by the Agency.

The second works, at Black Dog near Crediton, Devon, had breached its consent on three separate occasions in 2010, and again in July 2011 when it failed an inspection.

And finally, the court heard, there were a number of breaches at the Holcombe Rogus works, near Wellington, Somerset, between June 2010 and March 2011.

Despite the Environment Agency notifying South West Water of the sub-standard conditions at all three treatment works, caused by an apparent lack of maintenance, insufficient action was taken to rectify the problems and improve the level of compliance at each site.

“These pollution incidents were avoidable and resulted from a failure on the part of South West Water to maintain these sites in accordance with their Environmental Permits,” explained Ms Weller.

After pleading guilty to a total of five offences under the Environmental Permitting Act 2010, magistrates fined South West Water, of Peninsula House, Rydon Lane, Exeter, a total of £21,000 and ordered the company to pay £12,000 costs

Owners let windmill site go to waste (07/02/2012)

For more than a year, Lincoln Magistrates’ Court was told, waste was allowed to accumulate at the site of the only surviving eight-sailed windmill in the country.

On the land around Heckington Windmill could be found asbestos, agricultural plastic, construction waste, pesticide containers, furniture, Astroturf and household waste.

It was not clear who had deposited the waste, the Environment agency admitted, but at least one tenant and some fly-tippers had dumped rubbish on the land.

On several occasions the joint owners of the land, Peter Jeffrey Pocklington and Martyn Nicholas Pocklington, were informed that waste could not remain on the site without an appropriate environmental permit, but they failed to clear the waste.

As a consequence the two men were prosecuted for operating a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the storage of waste, without being authorised by an environmental permit granted under Regulation 13 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations.

After pleading guilty the two men were ordered to clear the site of all controlled waste by 29 June 2012 and to take it to a suitably permitted site.

The court deferred sentence until 11 July 2012.

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