20/05/2005 - A company
which runs a nursing home in Ringwood has
been ordered to pay £7,766 in fines
and costs for failing to properly maintain
the sewage treatment system at the home. The
case was brought by the Environment Agency.
Northdown Estates Ltd is responsible for the
sewage treatment plant serving Lindford Park
Nursing Home, near Ringwood, Hampshire which
is covered by a consent to discharge.
Environment Agency officers took a sample
at the site on 13 September 2004, which showed
one of the parameters (biological oxygen demand)
was three times the permitted level.
The company had failed to manage the sewage
treatment plant by not ensuring regular maintenance
and servicing.
The court was told that in the last two years
13 of 15 samples failed the required standards.
The firm was formally cautioned by the Environment
Agency last year.
Magistrates at Lyndhurst today heard Northdown
Estates Limited of 24 Aldermans Hill, London
plead guilty to on or about September 13,
2004 at Linford Park Nursing House, Linford
Road, Linford, Ringwood, contravening their
consent granted pursuant to Section 88 and
Schedule 10 of the Water Resources Act 1991,
contrary to Section 85(6) of the Water Resources
Act 1991.
The company was fined £6,500 with £1,266
costs.
Lisa Curtis from the Environment Agency said:
"The management at Northdown Estates
Ltd has failed to demonstrate responsibility
for managing the effluent discharge from the
treatment plant at Lindford Park Nursing Home."
