Paul Powlesland stands in the Alders Brook tributary after a cleanup in February. [River Roding Trust]
Paul Powlesland stands in the Alders Brook tributary after a cleanup in February. [River Roding Trust]

A British environmental activist who led a local river cleanup effort is under investigation by authorities for carrying out the work without a permit, stirring controversy.

According to recent reports by the Guardian and other British media, Paul Powlesland, a lawyer and environmental activist, spent about 10 days earlier this year conducting a large-scale cleanup of Alders Brook in the Barking area of east London.

Powlesland and a team of volunteers removed trash, branches, silt and discarded appliances from the riverbed and its banks. More than 200 bags of waste were pulled from the waterway.

After the work, Powlesland said the removal of years of accumulated waste and pollutants had restored roughly 250 meters of the river — about one-third of its total length.

"The silt that used to block the river is now spread across the banks, creating fertile soil suitable for native plants to grow," he said. "For the first time in decades, fish have returned. We can now see dragonflies, herons and nesting coots."

The UK Environment Agency determined that the work had been carried out without proper authorization and opened an investigation. In a written notice sent to Powlesland, the agency said it believed he had violated environmental permitting regulations and was probing potential breaches related to permits and waste disposal.

Authorities are particularly concerned that the scale of the dredging was larger than anticipated and could increase flood risk. If the charges are upheld, Powlesland could face up to two years in prison.

Powlesland took to social media to criticize the investigation, accusing the regulator of targeting volunteers instead of large corporations responsible for major pollution.

"The Environment Agency, which has turned a blind eye to rampant environmental crime on the River Roding for decades, has finally decided to take action," he said. "It has chosen to target me and a small volunteer group for restoring the river without a permit — not the fly-tippers who have dumped thousands of tons of rubbish on its banks."

The Environment Agency said it "strongly supports community efforts to improve the environment," but added that its role was to work with landowners to ensure projects do not cause unintended harm to the environment.

It said it was investigating some unauthorized work carried out on the River Roding but that no final decision had yet been made.


bbo@heraldcorp.com