Overview

• Leigh Day filed the group action for 3,943 residents and business owners, calling the courts the last avenue after perceived regulatory failures.
• Avara Foods, its subsidiary Freemans of Newent, and Welsh Water are named as defendants, with all three denying liability and promising a robust defense.
• The claim alleges high phosphorus and nitrogen loads from poultry manure and sewage, linking the pollutants to algal blooms, fish suffocation, and foul odors.
• Legal arguments include private and public nuisance and negligence, with potential payouts described as reaching into the hundreds of millions if the case succeeds.
• Welsh Water cites £70m invested on the Wye and a further £33m on the Usk, while Avara points to manure management efforts and says its poultry-only farms do not store or spread manure.