The long awaited Court of Appeal judgement was handed down on 2^nd April 2025 with relatively little publicity even though the judges were unanimous in finding against Defra, the Environment Agency and the Government in supporting the High Court decision of Lieven J on the 19^th February 2024 . That ground breaking Judgement found that the River Basin Management Plans published in 2022 are unlawful and wrongly drafted. The current case related to the Humber Basin River Management Plan which was subject to close scrutiny by the Courts and found to have been prepared with a total disregard or complete misunderstanding of the law set out in the Water Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive Rules. The effect of this judgement ought to lead to the current Plans nationwide being scrapped and redrafted after appropriate consultation.

The principles established affect all the River Basin Management Plans nationally and have exposed the Environment Agency for failing to plan correctly to clean up our rivers. The seriousness of that finding cannot be under estimated. The body we rely on to look after our rivers has disregarded the rules and planned to fail in one of their fundamental duties.

The Grayling Society supported Fish Legal and the Pickering Angling Association in opposing the Government appeal by making the largest single donation to the fund-raising appeal “Every River Counts”. The Committee and Members all recognised the importance of the issues for our rivers and used members funds to help achieve victory. The next steps are firmly in the Governments hands, they could delay matters by appealing to the Supreme Court, a completely pointless exercise or they could take the correct course and ensure the law and the purpose thereof is put into effect. The River Basin Management Plans are the basis of River clean ups and differ for each River basin. The Court of Appeal has now made it clear that the programme of measures in a River Basin Management Plan should include proposals for each individual water body in the river basin district. The plans must not be generic as the Secretary of State maintained and the Environment Agency had acted upon. In layman’s terms the Court has found that “one cap does not fit all” and River Basin Management Plans must be specific or they are unlawful.

The Independent Water Commission set up with much fanfare is directed to conduct all its deliberations based on the River Basin Management Plans which are now found to be unlawful. That fact must now render the IWC terms of reference as unlawful which is an embarrassing effect of the Costa Beck judgement. The ripples of this splash will spread far and wide in bringing the actions of the Government and the Regulators in too sharp perspective. The Water Companies financial plans are based on River Basin Management Plans, the OFWAT directives relating to those plans are therefore based on illegally prepared plans. There will be many such incidents of illegality based on these plans which will need to be corrected.

All the Environment Agency Plans to clean up our rivers and regulate polluters based on River Basin Management Plans are unlawful. The greatest scandal here is the exposure of Defra, the EA and the Government to unlawful practices in planning to clean up our rivers. The state of our rivers is hardly surprising when the institutions we all rely on to protect them are found to have been acting unlawfully and in the words of Lieven J. ”Planning to fail and surrounding their policies with smoke and mirrors” Society members will no doubt be awaiting future developments as I certainly will.