Christopher Godding v The Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
[2024] UKFTT 172 (GRC)
Jeremy Lavis v The Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
5 March 2024
[2024] UKFTT 196 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A farmer appealed because his land was included in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) even though it lacked visible drainage. The judge disagreed, saying the water still seeps into the ground and pollutes the area, upholding the NVZ designation.
Key Facts
- •Appeal concerns land in Wiltshire near Bradford-on-Avon.
- •Appellant, Mr. Lavis, appeals inclusion of his land in NVZ No. G23 "Penzance" in Cornwall.
- •Appeal grounds: No drainage ditches, drains, or watercourses on the land.
- •Secretary of State argues that water drains into the groundwater, which is designated as NVZ G23.
- •The land is situated over well-drained gritty loamy soils.
Legal Principles
Regulation 4(2) of the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015 requires the Secretary of State to monitor nitrate concentration and identify land contributing to pollution, designating it as an NVZ.
Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015
Regulations define a 'relevant holding' and outline rules for occupiers within an NVZ.
Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015
Regulation 5 requires publicising proposals and notifying owners/occupiers of relevant holdings before revising NVZ designations.
Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015
Regulation 6 allows appeal on grounds that the holding doesn't drain into identified polluted water (Type A) or that the water shouldn't be identified as polluted (Type B).
Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015
Outcomes
The appeal is dismissed.
The Tribunal accepted the Secretary of State's argument that despite the absence of surface water drainage, water from the land drains into the groundwater within NVZ No. G23. The appellant failed to provide evidence to the contrary.
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