Plumpton College Must Pay Almost £95,000 After 2016 Pollution

Plumpton College has today (August 21) been fined £50,000 and must pay nearly £45,000 costs, after the Environment Agency prosecuted it, following a pollution incident where a court agreed management failings caused the deaths of more than 1,500 fish.

But the College said the incident was attributable to an inexplicable course of behaviour by an ex-member of staff who left the college in 2017.

Plumpton College added that, had this individual not acted in this way, no pollution event would have occurred.

At Hove Crown Court, Judge Shani Barnes said that the Environment Agency had earlier worked tirelessly to bring the college into regulatory compliance over previous years.

The court heard on 29 and 30 November 2016, contaminated water containing a high amount of cow slurry was spread as fertiliser onto a field known as "15 Acres", at Wales Farm, now called Lambert Farm, managed by Plumpton College. 

But the college's head herdsman, Stuart Duncan, carried out the work despite the volume spread being many times more than the field could absorb.

As the ground was also frozen, much of the contaminated water ran off into ditches and land drains, which then flowed into the nearby Plumpton Mill Stream.

The Environment Agency classified the contamination as a category one incident — its most serious level.

Officials said the stream smelled strongly of slurry, and the watercourse was visibly brown with foam on the top.

Many of the dead fish were protected species, such as migratory trout.

The Environment Agency became aware of the incident after it was reported by a member of the public.

The Agency added that the college did not report the pollution had occurred, nor did it have an emergency plan in place for dealing with slurry spillage. 

The Environment Agency had been in regular contact to advise the college on its management and operations on number occasions since 2011, because of concerns about incidents and non-compliances with agricultural regulations.

The college admitted the incident was the result of a mistake by a member of staff.

They conceded the actions taken to spread the slurry were wrong, as the weather conditions and field were not suitable for this to take place. 

Prior to sentencing, Mr. Duncan accepted a formal caution for his actions contributing to the incident.

Ed Schmidt, environment management team leader in Sussex for the Environment Agency, said: 

"Poor management, a lack of contingency planning and inadequate infrastructure at the farm resulted in a totally avoidable pollution incident that had a disastrous effect on the local environment.

"It is even more disappointing that a college that specialises in agricultural practices and teaches farmers of the future failed to take all reasonable actions, and was wholly negligent in preventing this incident from occurring in the first place.

"The outcome of this case should be a clear and strong message to all people working within the farming industry to ensure they think about the actions they take when managing highly polluting liquids."

Plumpton College, of Ditchling Road, Lewes, pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown court last year to the offence.

Costs of £44,852.66 against the college were awarded.

After the fine and costs were decided, college officials said the institution was looking forward to receiving record numbers of land based students for the start of the new academic year, as it continues to achieve some of the highest pass rates amongst its peers nationally.

They said that Plumpton College's new cohort of agriculture students will learn on the farm which is today accredited by Red Tractor and the prestigious LEAF Marque for its environmentally friendly farming practices.