NATIONAL TRUST FINED £5,000

The Environment Agency has prosecuted the National Trust for allowing sewage to leave Bodiam Castle near Robertsbridge and enter the River Rother without receiving the correct treatment.

The National Trust appeared before Hastings Magistrates Court on Monday (april 10) and pleaded guilty to the offence. It was fined 5,000 and was ordered to pay costs of 720 to the Environment Agency.

Under section 85(6) of the Water Resources Act 1991, Bodiam Castle has a consent that allows for the discharge of treated sewage and effluent to the River Rother.

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To ensure the environment is protected, the Environment Agency sets conditions on the under which this sewage and effluent can be discharged. The National Trust, the owners of Bodiam Castle, contravened a condition of this consent.

The court heard that in August 2004 there was a meeting between the Environment Agency and the National Trust regarding the sewage treatment plant at Bodiam Castle. The Environment Agency stressed the treatment plant should be compliant by the summer of 2005, since water levels are very low in the summer and a breach of consent would therefore have had a greater impact at that time of year.

On 23 August 2005, Environment Agency Officers took a sample of the discharge from the castle's sewage treatment plant. The sample was analysed and the Biochemical Oxygen Demand Level and the suspended solids level were both found to be nearly four times the agreed consent figure. This demonstrated that the plant could not cope during the peak period for visitors to the castle.

Commenting on the case, Peter Bilbrough of the Environment Agency's Legal team said: "This showed that once again the plant could not cope during the peak period for visitors to the castle. It therefore seems as though our warning from the year before had not been heeded."

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In mitigation the National Trust said they took the matter very seriously and the organisation is spending 200,000 to rectify the problems at the sewage treatment plant as Bodiam Castle has 170,000 visitors per year. The National Trust spends 160 million per year regarding its environment management responsibilities.

The National Trust also stated that upgrading the sewage treatment works had sadly taken a long time, as there is a lengthy approval process.