In 2015 the branch began to track the applications for poultry farms in the county. We were concerned about the rapid expansion of the poultry industry across the county and the environmental implications of such a concentration of intensive livestock farming in one area. Our 2016 day conference ‘Ponds, Rivers & Poultry’, chaired by freshwater ecologist Dr Steven Ormerod, drew together experts and residents to discuss the role of diffuse agricultural pollution among the pressures on freshwater systems. See INTENSIVE POULTRY DEVELOPMENTS for more on our ongoing campaign for recognition and control of the environmental risks of intensive livestock farming.

In 2021 the charity Friends of the Upper Wye (now Friends of the River Wye (FORW)) established a citizen science water quality monitoring network across much of the Upper Wye river system. High phosphate levels recorded in the Lugg had already compromised the river’s health and led to restrictions on development within the catchment. In conjunction with the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust we formed Friends of the Lugg to ensure the citizen science monitoring project was extended to include the River Lugg. In 2022 Friends of the River Lugg was absorbed into the Friends of the River Wye. CPRW and FORW work closely on agricultural pollution and river related issues and our branch is represented on the River Wye Nutrient Management Board.

There have been a number of significant developments in recent years:

In 2023 Lancaster University’s RePhokUs report demonstrated that approximately 3000 tonnes of excess phosphorus is generated within the catchment each year. In other words, 3000 more tonnes was being produced within the catchment, much of it spread to land, than the catchment crop requirements could absorb. This surplus is nearly 60% greater than the national average and is driven by the large amounts of livestock manure produced in the catchment, which in turn is a consequence of the scale of the intensive livestock industry within the catchment. The research found clear evidence of links between the pressures of excessive phosphorus and phosphate concentrations in the river water. Recommendations included proper enforcement of existing regulation and  a reduction in livestock numbers to reduce the phosphorus pressures on the river.

Also in 2023 Natural England downgraded the health status of the Wye and Lugg SSSIs to ‘unfavourable – declining’ as a result of declines in wildlife and aquatic vegetation driven by agricultural and sewage pollution.

In recent years there have been a number of encouraging legal decisions:

• In May 2024 the rivers charity River Action brought a judicial review to challenge the legality of the Environment Agency’s approach to enforcement. Although the judge did not concede that the EA’s approach was unlawful, the EA having made a number of changes to enforcement documentation during the course of proceedings, the High Court ruling did acknowledge that the River Wye is experiencing severe levels of pollution as a result of excessive phosphorus. The judge also ruled that to remedy this situation farming practices would need to change. In particular, autumn and winter manure spreading, when the danger of pollution is at its highest would need to be limited.

Poor enforcement of existing regulation remains a concern both sides of the border, and creates an unlevel playing field that disincentivizes environmentally responsible farming.

• In March 2025 the High Court ruled on a case brought by the NFU against Herefordshire Council in relation to the council’s revised waste management strategy. The ruling confirmed both that poultry manure should be regarded as waste and also that the manure spreading rules found in the Farming Rules for Water (England) were not on their own a sufficient means of ensuring safe disposal of manure and environmental protection. This important ruling requires that applications for intensive livestock farms must include plans for safe disposal of intensive livestock manures and farms within the Rivers Wye and Clun SACs must demonstrate nutrient neutrality.

The NFU has not appealed the decision. The Farming Rules for Water have since been under investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection.

• In June 2025 a local campaigner, Dr Alison Caffyn, won a judicial review in the High Court against Shropshire Council’s decision to approve the application for a 2000,000 bird poultry farm near Shrewsbury. The judge’s decision makes clear that local planning authorities are expected to 1) assess the cumulative impacts of having multiple intensive agricultural developments in one river catchment before granting permission for another, and 2) consider how intensive livestock farms dispose of waste from treatment facilities downstream, including from anaerobic digestion plants.
• Finally, in October 2025 the law firm Leigh Day have brought a class action against Welsh Water and the Avara Foods group on behalf of 4,000 local residents. Avara are included in this action for their role, through their poultry supply chain, in the worsening pollution and the decline in the environmental health of the Rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk. This is the largest case brought in the UK over environmental pollution, both in terms of the number of claimants and the geographical scale of the damage. If successful, it’s hoped the court will order a clean-up of the rivers as well as compensation.

It is a clear indictment of the repeated failures on the part of government and regulators both sides of the border that campaigners have to resort to the courts, with all the attendant cost and risk, to protect the health of their local environment. Although the 3 decided cases above are English cases, a High Court ruling is likely to be binding or highly persuasive for lower courts in Wales, so that these decisions have relevance across the border.

In other news:

• In December 2024, the University of York published findings that among 23 river and lake bathing waters the Wye (the Warren at Hay on Wye obtained bathing water status in June 2024) was among the worst for gene markers that could lead to superbugs being detected. Pharmaceuticals, pesticides, metals and industrial chemicals were also detected.
• In January 2025, NRW published updated SAC assessments: the River Wye is shown to have met phosphorus limits on only 42% of assessed waterbodies.
• In March 2025, Welsh Government acknowledge in the statutory review of the Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations that pollutants other than nitrogen, including phosphorus, should be brought within the scope of the regulations.
• Also in March 2025, the £65million River Wye Action Plan promised by the previous government was scrapped and a £1million research initiative has been put forward by Welsh Government.

November 2025