The Environment Agency has secured £168,000 from a series of local enforcement actions, money that will be channelled to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to support nature recovery and deliver environmental improvements across the county.
How the money was raised
The funds were provided through Enforcement Undertakings — legally binding, voluntary agreements offered by businesses or individuals as an alternative to prosecution or a monetary penalty when the Environment Agency has reasonable grounds to suspect an environmental offence has occurred.
Investigations in Lincolnshire uncovered a number of unauthorised waste deposits and a separate water pollution incident. The payments, made as part of these undertakings, came from five companies involved in the investigations:
- Bowring Transport Limited – £60,000 (construction and demolition waste at Hook Cliff Farm, Grantham)
- Construction & Environmental Services Limited – £26,000 (construction and demolition waste)
- Earthborn Transport Limited – £12,000 (construction and demolition waste)
- Fox (Owmby) Limited – £40,000 (mixed waste deposited at a camping and caravan park)
- Crockway Farms Limited – £30,000 (water offence following a slurry discharge from a pig unit)
| Company | Amount paid | Offence |
|---|---|---|
| Bowring Transport Limited | £60,000 | Unauthorised construction & demolition waste at Hook Cliff Farm, Grantham |
| Construction & Environmental Services Limited | £26,000 | Unauthorised construction & demolition waste |
| Earthborn Transport Limited | £12,000 | Unauthorised construction & demolition waste |
| Fox (Owmby) Limited | £40,000 | Unauthorised mixed waste at a camping and caravan park |
| Crockway Farms Limited | £30,000 | Slurry discharge causing a water offence |
What the Environment Agency says
“While we continue to prosecute and sanction the most serious offences, Enforcement Undertakings allow companies to put right what went wrong and channel money directly into the environment.”
The quotation was given by Laura Richardson, the Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in the Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire area.
Local impact and how the funds will be used
The donated funds will be used by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to boost habitat restoration and wider nature recovery work across the county. Previous enforcement undertaking payments have gone on reed management work, and the trust will direct this money to projects that deliver environmental benefits locally.
Enforcement Undertakings provide an alternative route to address environmental harm: rather than pursuing a fine or prosecution in every case, the arrangement requires the responsible party to make a financial contribution towards remedial or compensatory measures that benefit the environment. The Agency has said it will still prosecute and apply sanctions for the most serious breaches.
For residents concerned about illegal tipping or evidence of pollution, the Environment Agency continues to take reports and investigate incidents across Lincolnshire. The recent series of undertakings underlines that enforcement can result in both remedial action and funding for local conservation work.
