After failing to address pollution issues in a much- loved river, despite being ordered to do so by the High Court, the Government has now been forced to draw up fresh restoration plans by lawyers at Fish Legal.
The Upper Costa Beck in North Yorkshire has been in documented decline for nearly 20 years, with a range of pressures impacting its ecosystem. After losing a case to Fish Legal in court last year, the Government approved a plan to protect and restore the river.
However, they have now accepted the plan failed to address specific measures for the restoration, as required under the Water Framework Directive, and the High Court has now ordered the Environment Agency to redo the programme of measures for the river again.
“The Government lost in court, said it had fixed the problem, and then had to be taken back to court because it hadn’t,” Zoe Wedderburn- Day, Head of Policy and Strategy at Fish Legal, said.
“People know about sewage in rivers and they know agricultural pollution is a problem. What they may not see is how often real action is delayed, even after courts have stepped in.
“The regulator must now act. Delay is no longer an option,” she added.
