The Westcountry Rivers Trust is to receive £60,000 to fund river barrier removal in the Teign catchment.
Through Environment Agency intervention, Valley Pet Crematorium in Paignton has agreed to pay the money as part of efforts to improve passage for salmon and other fish in the area. The company had failed to obtain the correct permit for veterinary waste.
The Environment Agency’s Jonathan Macqueen said: “While no environmental harm resulted from this mistake, the rules are there to protect the environment and ensure a level playing field across the waste industry.
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“Carrying, storing and dealing with different types of waste requires a permit and we firmly regulate industry to make sure everyone is compliant with the law.
“Valley Pet Crematorium failed to get a new permit to run a clinical waste transfer station when it moved from Exeter to a new site in Aspen Way, Paignton, in January 2023.
“While the firm had a valid waste carrier licence, a separate permit was needed to store healthcare waste it collected from veterinary practices and brought back to the Paignton facility. The mistake came to light 18 months later during an Environment Agency compliance investigation.”
A new permit was issued in November 2024, and the company told the Environment Agency it was “a matter of intense regret that the company did not obtain the permit in the timely manner it should have done”.
It offered an enforcement undertaking, a sanction that avoids prosecution in return for funding environmental projects, and invested heavily in a waste management tracking system.
A spokesperson for Westcountry Rivers Trust said: “We will use the contribution to remove or ease significant barriers to fish migration, helping Atlantic salmon, trout and European eel reach spawning and nursery habitats.
“We expect this work to reconnect at least 10km of river habitat across the Teign catchment. That means a better chance for migratory fish to complete their life cycles and a healthier, more resilient river system.”
