Aldwych Legal advised James Carter and Sarah Holden, owners of riverside businesses in Manchester who required advice from environmental law solicitors in Manchester, after an upstream chemical discharge contaminated the local river. The matter involved environmental law, business loss claims and public law issues arising from regulatory failings.
What Happened
In late April 2024 an industrial operator’s routine maintenance event resulted in an unauthorised wastewater discharge upstream. The river became discoloured and odorous, with visible foaming and residues on banks used by local businesses.
The immediate practical impact fell on several enterprises: The Riverside Café (James Carter), a small boat-hire firm (Sarah Holden) and a riverside event provider. Each suffered business interruption, cancelled bookings and additional cleanup costs while water-dependent operations were suspended pending investigation.
The Environment Agency opened an investigation. Initial evidence from on-site sampling suggested the discharge arose from an operational lapse at the industrial facility rather than an isolated accidental spill.
Legal Issues
- Potential breaches of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and the Water Resources Act 1991 for unauthorised discharge and pollution.
- Civil claims in nuisance and negligence for loss of business, wasted expenditure and damage to reputation.
- Public law considerations relating to regulatory oversight, enforcement action and transparency of the Environment Agency’s investigation.
- Commercial law issues affecting contracts, cancellations and supply obligations for affected businesses.
Our Approach
We took statements from affected proprietors, compiled contemporaneous loss schedules and instructed an independent water-quality expert to analyse samples and timelines. That evidence informed our formal representations to the Environment Agency requesting urgent enforcement and disclosure of investigatory findings.
Pre-action correspondence under the relevant CPR provisions was sent to the suspected polluter’s solicitors, setting out the factual and legal basis for claims and inviting early settlement. Throughout we sought to balance prompt remediation and interim measures with preserving rights to pursue full redress.
Outcome
The industrial operator accepted procedural failure and, following negotiation, agreed to compensate the businesses for interruption losses, reasonable cleanup costs and demonstrable reputational harm. Settlement terms included a timetable for payment and commitments to fund independent monitoring while remediation took place.
The Environment Agency imposed financial penalties and issued enforcement notices requiring the operator to revise maintenance protocols, install additional monitoring and report compliance measures to the regulator. The combined result restored trading confidence and reinstated safe river access for clients.
Result / Why It Matters
This matter demonstrates Aldwych Legal’s experience securing practical and regulatory outcomes for commercial clients affected by environmental failure: protecting income, achieving remediation and ensuring regulatory accountability to safeguard local waterways.
