Landmark River Wye pollution claim reaches High Court as Avara Foods and Welsh Water contest case
A landmark legal claim over pollution in the River Wye and its tributaries reaches the High Court on Monday, as more than 4,500 people accuse one of the UK’s largest chicken producers and a water company of contaminating the Wye, Lugg and Usk. The group action targets Avara Foods and Welsh Water and is being brought on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Lawyers for the claimants say it is the biggest environmental pollution case ever filed in the UK by number of claimants and geographical spread. A first procedural hearing will be held in London, with lead claimant Justine Evans expected to attend. Residents along the Welsh–English border say the Wye—one of the UK’s longest and most celebrated rivers—has in recent summers turned green, smelly and slimy.
The claim alleges that nutrients from chicken manure spread on nearby fields, coupled with sewage spills, washed into waterways, driving high levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and bacteria and triggering algal blooms in warm weather. The action seeks measures to improve river health and compensation for people whose lives and businesses have been affected.
Campaigners have long highlighted the rapid expansion of industrial poultry farming in the Wye catchment, where about 24 million chickens are currently raised—roughly a quarter of the UK’s entire chicken population—mostly in large sheds. Until recently, manure from these units was used as cheap fertiliser on local arable land.
The legal team argues that, although farmers spread the manure, Avara Foods and its subsidiary Freemans of Newent should be held responsible for the consequences because they profited from and controlled the supply chain. The companies being sued face allegations of negligence, private and public nuisance, and, in cases where riverbeds on claimants’ properties were affected, trespass.
Evans, a wildlife filmmaker living near the Wye, said the river no longer looks, feels or smells as it should and described what she sees as a systemic failure, adding that taking legal action was the only course to make polluters pay. Regulators have also raised alarms.
In 2023, Natural England rated the condition of the River Wye as “unfavourable – declining.” A 2024 River Wye Action Plan cited excessive nutrients from farming and wastewater discharges, as well as climate change increasing water temperatures and reducing flows in hot, dry summers.
Avara, which dominates chicken farming in the area, called the allegations “misconceived,” saying it is confident in its position and believes the claim lacks a proper scientific basis. The company also said river health is affected by multiple factors. Welsh Water has described the claims as “misguided.” The court will begin by setting out procedures for the case.
Given its size and scope, the outcome could have significant implications for how responsibility is apportioned for agricultural and wastewater impacts on UK rivers.