Well-meaning environmentalist barrister who cleaned up rubbish-infested river is probed by busybody officials and told he needs a licence

An environmentalist barrister who cleaned up a rubbish-infested river is being probed by jobsworth officials after being told he needed a licence.

Paul Powlesland, 40, is being probed by the Environment Agency (EA) after organising a team of volunteers to clear part of the River Roding in Barking, east London, in March.

Hiring a £1,000 digger, the group removed 200 bag of waste, including packaging, needles, domestic appliances and even weapons, from a side section of the polluted river.

But shortly after, Mr Powlesland, who lives on a houseboat on the river, received a letter from the watchdog alleging he had carried out works without an environmental permit.

Contravening the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 by carrying out unpermitted works can carry up to two years in prison.

Yet despite the warning, he has vowed to push on with his clean-up efforts – and has urged the environmental watchdog to ‘come on board’.

He said: ‘This river will be restored – they now have a clear choice.

A barrister is facing a criminal record after he pulled 200 bags of rubbish from a section of the River Roding in Barking

Paul Powlesland, pictured in part of Alders Brook in Ilford, east London, received a letter from the environment watchdog saying he was under investigation 

‘They can fight me and all the other amazing volunteers doing the work, or they can get on board and help us, and become the good guys in this.

‘I don’t think they’re going to win this in the court of public opinion. Fight us, or come on board with us.’

Mr Powlesland said his clean-up efforts became known after he posted updates in a private Facebook group with other volunteers. 

He said: ‘I hadn’t even posted about the works publicly, only in our private Facebook group.

‘So it seems like there’s EA spies in our Facebook group, spying on local people restoring a river.

‘I don’t see how else they would have known, there’s no other way they could have known.’

However, he said the efforts of his group to clean the River Roding has seen the water’s ecosystem come ‘back to life’.

Mr Powlesland added: ‘We’ve got irises and reed beds coming back – I saw fish in there for the first time a couple of weeks ago, dragonflies and herons returning.

Mr Powlesland and his team found packaging, needles, domestic appliances and weapons during their clear-up of the River Roding (pictured) 

‘The whole ecosystem is coming back to life, now it’s actually got water rather than just stagnant mud.

‘This is what we’ve seen over and over again: if you just take away the rubbish and invasive species, get some light back to the river, amazing things happen.

‘It isn’t rocket science, and it isn’t impossible. Even an urban river like the Roding can be ecologically rich and restored for surprisingly little money.’

Mr Powlesland said he wants the EA’s enforcement priorities redirected and that, as volunteers, his group should not have to spend their own money and jump through regulatory hurdles just to put in their own time to clean things up.

He pointed to a Thames Water sewage outlet – approximately 200 metres upstream from the restored Alders Brook site – which he claims is usually ‘spewing’ sewage into the water.

The water company said the outlet conforms to the law.

He said it is an ‘absolute shame’ that authorities do not listen to those who know the river. 

Instead, Mr Powlesland added, companies should help groups such as his deliver what is ‘needed’ for the river, rather than stand in their way.

A spokesperson for the EA said they ‘welcome’ communities taking steps to improve their local environment, but insisted undertaking work without the appropriate permits is ‘not acceptable’.

They said: ‘Environmental permits are there to make sure that work does not cause unintended harm – to flood risk, drainage or the wider environment.’

A spokesperson for Thames Water said they understand the ‘concerns’ raised by Mr Powlesland and fellow River Roding residents. 

They said: ‘We’re delivering our biggest wastewater network upgrade in 150 years, increasing treatment capacity, reducing storm discharges, and introducing nutrient-reduction schemes.

‘Clean, safe rivers are a shared priority, and we support efforts to improve water quality.

‘We’re committed to helping waterways thrive, but farming, industry, road run-off and increasingly extreme weather also affect river health.

‘Similarly to the outfalls at our sewage treatment works, Combined Sewer Outfalls (CSOs) on the River Roding operate within limits set by the Environment Agency and are a legally permitted process of the wastewater system.

‘These discharges are heavily diluted by rainwater, and the system was originally designed this way to prevent sewage from backing up into people’s homes during periods of intense rainfall.

‘We take our responsibility to monitor and maintain our wastewater network seriously and understands the concerns raised by Mr Powlesland and the residents of the area.

‘We actively encourage reports of any outfalls potentially polluting waterways and will always investigate them fully.’