Key Facts
- •Appellant owns Crown Inn Farm, Sheffield, designated as a relevant holding within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ).
- •Respondent (Secretary of State) issued a notice designating the land as part of NVZ S261.
- •Appellant appealed the designation under regulation 6 of the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015.
- •Appellant argued his land drains into water that should not be identified as polluted.
- •Appellant submitted expert evidence from Hafren Water suggesting initial incorrect designation and improved monitored levels.
- •Respondent provided hydrographic evidence and maps supporting the designation.
- •Respondent conceded a 2008 error in designation based on then-current methodology but justified the current designation using a 2012 methodology.
- •The 2012 methodology considers the worst-performing tributary in designating a water body.
Legal Principles
Council Directive 91/676/EEC requires Member States to designate Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) to protect water from agricultural nitrate pollution.
Council Directive 91/676/EEC
UK Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015 implement the UK's obligations under the Nitrates Directive.
UK Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015
Regulation 6 of the 2015 Regulations provides for appeals on two grounds: (a) the holding does not drain into identified polluted water; or (b) the water is not polluted.
Regulation 6 of the 2015 Regulations
The Tribunal applies the balance of probabilities standard of proof.
UKFTT-GRC 2023 789
Proportionality of restrictions on agricultural holdings, even if only contributing a small percentage to pollution, is upheld.
R v Secretary of State for the Environment and Another, ex parte Standley and Others; EC v Belgium
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
Respondent's evidence, based on the updated 2012 methodology, demonstrated that appellant's land drains into water properly identified as polluted.