Henley Pub Contaminated Public Sewer

A Henley pub has been convicted of contaminating the public sewer with fats and oils from its kitchen.

Company director Mark Douglas Dunlop, 59, acting on behalf of The Angel (Henley) Limited, admitted an offence under the Water Industry Act 1991 when he appeared at Reading Magistrates' Court on Friday, 19th March 2021.

It is an offence under section 111 of the Act for any person to permit to be thrown into, be emptied into, or to pass into the public sewer any matter likely to injure the sewer or drain, to interfere with the free flow of its contents or to affect prejudicially the treatment and disposal of its contents.

The maximum penalty for this offence is an unlimited fine on summary conviction; 2 years' custody and/or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.

The charge relates to the discharge of kitchen waste from The Angel On The Bridge, on Thames Side, Henley.

Magistrates heard that Thames Water began tracing pollution incidents back to The Angel as early as 2010, four years after Dunlop took up the tenancy of the idyllic Brakspear pub.

In 2016 the water company undertook extensive work, at a cost of £100,000, to improve outflow and reduce the possibility of blockages in the sewer serving the riverside pub.

Thames Water technicians undertook regular monitoring of the sewer and they often logged evidence of "excessive fats, oil and grease" emanating from The Angel. In extreme cases fatbergs can form blocking the entire sewer, as shown in the following stock image. There is no suggestion of that in this case.

Several letters were sent to the pub advising of the problem. A representative from Thames Water discussed the issue with Dunlop on the telephone and advised him install a grease management system. Dunlop was also given the name of three suppliers who could help with the installation of the system.

The Angel did eventually take measures to mitigate the problem, but by which time if was too late.

Thames Water tried to contact Dunlop a total of 15 times, but heard nothing back until a summons was issued in October 2019.

Sarah Valentine, prosecuting on behalf of Thames Water, said: "It was fully clear at this time that there were issues on this site and in the period after the business came into compliance, no further fats have been found. It's fair to say the grease management has been working effectively.

"As a food service business, you would expect the defendant to have complied with this. Even with good practices like wiping plates thoroughly, you still need grease separation.

"It's highly likely that a blockage at this location would cause sewage to enter neighbouring watercourses. There is a history of non-compliance and warnings in this environmentally sensitive location.

"Thames Water doesn't like to prosecute customers but it typically spends £18 million a year clearing 75,000 blockages. It has a duty to protect its sewers and must take action to ensure a level playing field for everyone."

Tom Brymer, mitigating, told Magistrates that several of the water company's messages had been picked up by a poorly performing manager, who may not have passed them on to Dunlop.

He said that staff at The Angel had been instructed in the safe disposal of oils.

Mr Brymer said: "Mr Dunlop accepts he should have done more but we can only be sure he knew of two messages. He was completely aware of the problem once he was prosecuted and very quickly spent the money putting in new systems.

"He will continue doing everything in his power, like spot checks and training everyone in the building about grease, to ensure he never finds himself in this position again.

"It has been very difficult to balance these court proceedings with running a business but he has taken it on himself to ensure everything is done properly. The difference between then and now is like chalk and cheese."

Mr Brymer told Magistrates that The Angel was facing financial hardship due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, having been closed for 34 of the previous 52 weeks. He urged the bench to be as lenient as possible in sentencing.

Dunlop was fined £1,800 and ordered to pay £170 victim surcharge and £5,200 towards prosecution costs.

The Angel (Henley) Limited was fined £3,300 and ordered to pay £170 victim surcharge and £5,000 towards prosecution costs.

Katherine Wheatley, Presiding Justice, said: "This is a serious environmental issue which was known about, or should have been, for many years but nothing was done until the summons was issued."

Speaking after the hearing, Dunlop said: "Despite what appears to be a fairly compelling case, I maintain I was unaware of the seriousness of these allegations until I received the court summons.

"As soon as I was aware, I had a grease trap installed as per the recommendations. Unfortunately, correspondence was addressed to two separate members of staff.

"Thames Water could have spoken to me or my head chef, who has been with me for 10 years, if they really wanted to as one or another of us would have been working most days. A recorded and letter addressed to me personally would have sufficed."