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Multiple pollution breaches at Dairy Crest's Davidstow site

BBC Dairycrest creameryBBC
Dairy Crest, whose brands include Cathedral City cheese, buys milk from about 300 farmers in the area

A dairy plant is under investigation over pollution complaints, less than a year after its owner was fined more than £1.5m for a series of offences.

The Environment Agency (EA) confirmed there had been "multiple permit breaches" in 2022 and 2023 at the Davidstow plant in Cornwall.

It was "requiring the operator" to take steps to prevent any more.

Plant owner Saputo Dairy UK said "further initiatives" were under way to address the problems.

Dairycrest creamery
Saputo said it had remained largely compliant with water quality permit limits since the court case

Saputo, which produces the Cathedral City cheese at the Dairy Crest site at Davidstow, was fined £1.52m in June 2022 after admitting a series of pollution and odour charges.

The EA said it was now responding to "a number" of odour and noise complaints in 2022 and 2023 from the creamery's waste-water processing facility and had "recorded multiple permit breaches".

It said: "We are requiring the operator to take steps to prevent or minimise these impacts now and in future."

The EA said there were also still "ongoing investigations into offending from 2021 and 2022" and it would "ensure" planned improvements were delivered "as quickly as possible".

It added that the site had "largely been compliant with water quality permit conditions over the previous seven months" but it was "reviewing those conditions to ensure they adequately protect the River Inny".

The water treatment plant at Davidstow creamery
Fish were killed in the River Inny due to pollution, a court heard in 2022

Waste was discharged several times into the River Inny, killing fish, the 2022 court case was told.

The river is used for breeding Atlantic salmon and is home to native wild brown trout, plus smaller species such as bullheads and loaches.

Saputo said in a statement it had "undertaken a substantial programme of capital investment and operational improvements over the last four years".

It said the site's "environmental performance is improving" and it had "remained largely compliant with water quality permit limits since the court case".

It added: "We are aware of a few neighbours still experiencing issues around odour and noise and further initiatives are under way to address this, which they are aware of."

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