Edinburgh-based Miller Homes Ltd was heard at at Leeds Crown Court on 18th May where it admitted to one environmental offence for an unauthorised discharge of silt-laden water in November 2013 at Lindley Park in Huddersfield. 

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Environmental permitting laws exist to protect the environment and local communities from harm.

“This case shows how important it is that construction and other industrial companies adhere to the regulations to ensure that their activities do not pose a risk of pollution.

“Miller Homes should have had more effective water management systems on the construction site to prevent the silty run-off from affecting local watercourses.”

The firm had contracted Flannery Civil Engineering Ltd to construct four storage lagoons for the polluted water, with straw bales to prevent silt from leaving the site.

However, heavy rainfall led to the straw bales being removed in order to drain the lagoons and prevent flooding. 

Following this, silt water ran directly into the watercourse, affecting the water quality.

Prosecuting for the Environment Agency, Chris Bunting told the court the polluted water should have been managed on the construction site, and that neither company had permission to discharge silt water from the site.

A member of the public reported the pollution, which sparked the Environment Agency’s investigation. 

Miller Homes said they had since made improvements to their lagoon system, and directed attention to their accreditation for environmental standards.

They firm stated that its board of directors had been “apoplectic” that the problem had not been reported to the Environment Agency, or even themselves, at the time.

The firm was also ordered to pay £2,901.03 in costs. 

Flannery was fined £9,000 in March after admitting a similar charge for its involvement in the same incident. 

Anyone who witnesses pollution of any kind is urged to contact the Environmental Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 807 060.