Millionaire's estate water use 'flouted' drought rules

One of the UK's wealthiest women has had to pay £28,000 after abstracting too much water from a chalk stream during a drought.

Ilchester Estate took more than the equivalent of three Olympic-size swimming pools' worth of water than it should have from the Dorset Frome chalk stream, the Environment Agency (EA) said.

The estate is owned by Charlotte Townshend - who is estimated to be worth £489m by the Sunday Times 2024 Rich List.

In a statement is said it "very much regrets the historic breach of its water extraction licence" and had increased investment in its water infrastructure.

Chalk streams, of which the river Frome is one of only 200 in the world, contain mineral-rich water and are "havens" for wildlife.

Ilchester Estate has a licence to remove a set amount of water from the stream, which it then uses to supply houses, offices, gardens and farms on the site.

But an EA investigation found that between December 2022 and July 2023, the estate exceeded it's allowance by about 7,500 cubic metres.

For part of that period, Wessex - the region that the estate sits within - was officially in a drought.

Carolyn Lane, senior environment officer at the EA, said chalk streams were "stunningly beautiful", but "ecologically sensitive".

"Where companies or individuals hold licences to take water from them, they cannot ignore the conditions attached and take as much water as they like," she said.

Ms Lane said the estate had "not only deliberately flouted the conditions", but did it at a time when it was "likely that damage will have been done to the river and the surrounding environment it supports".

The EA added that it had previously warned the estate to stop over abstracting water in 2018.

Following the investigation, the estate was ordered to pay a variable monetary penalty of £19,777.69, plus costs of £8,298.60 to the EA.

Ms Townshend also owns Abbotsbury Swannery - making her the only person other than the King who is allowed to own swans in the UK.

Ilchester Estates said: "Since this has taken place, the Estate has invested in its water infrastructure in order to reduce the amount of leaks and to monitor abstraction now on a daily basis.

"The Estate remains committed to the protection and enhancement of the diverse natural environment under its management."

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