20 Jul 2026
A Redbourn resident has formerly filed two sets of proceedings against SADC with the courts relating to the River Ver and Markyate Wastewater Treatment Works.
Paul Crowley, 50, who lives in Ridgedown, has launched two different actions against the district council.
The first is claim for damages in Herts County Court covering housing disrepair, disability discrimination, unlawful financial deductions, anti-social behaviour failures, safeguarding failures, and the council’s conduct following his mother’s death in November 2025. This is a joint claim brought by Paul and his brother, Kevin Lane.
The second is a Statement of Facts and Grounds in the Administrative Court in support of an application for judicial review of the council’s planning decisions affecting Redbourn Parish and the River Ver catchment, on grounds including irrationality, failure to take into account the ongoing Environment Agency investigation into Markyate Wastewater Treatment Works, and failure to obtain adequate evidence of wastewater infrastructure capacity.
His main legal challenge centres on the council’s approval of residential development in the Redbourn area at a time when Markyate wastewater treatment works – the facility which will serve that development – was already under formal investigation by the Environment Agency for discharges into the River Ver outside permitted conditions.
The investigation has been running since December 2023 and remains ongoing, and monitoring of the Ver for its ecological status and water quality remains active.
The river, which is an internationally significant chalk stream, is currently at moderate ecological status, well below the good ecological status required under environmental law, with over-abstraction and wastewater discharge identified as the primary pressures.
Mr Crowley has accused SADC of failing to take into account material considerations, specifically the ongoing EA investigation; failure to obtain or rely upon adequate evidence of wastewater infrastructure capacity; and failure to give adequate weight to the environmental impact on a globally rare habitat.
Developers are bidding to add thousands of homes onto Green Belt land in the vicinity of Redbourn, with many already included in the district’s draft Local Plan, currently in the final stages of approval.
Approximately 1,000 homes are planned for a 104-acre open arable site on the northeast edge of Redbourn village, between Dunstable Road, Harpenden Lane and the Redbourn bypass, while the East Hemel development will see 4,000 homes on 975 acres east of Hemel , south of the B487 Hemel Hempstead Road (Redbourn Road) and north of the A4147 St Albans Road.
Mr Crowley believes SADC should not approve any developments in Redbourn without proper assessment of wastewater infrastructure, and whether it could cope with thousands of additional homes in the area.
He sent the council pre-action papers last month, but said the response he received was not sufficient to prevent him taking further steps.
“The council failed to respond substantively to my pre-action correspondence by the deadline. On the environmental side they provided a spreadsheet of planning references instead of the wastewater data I requested. On the housing side they threatened possession proceedings against my disabled brother days after I served legal papers, then backtracked when challenged. The pattern throughout has been deflection rather than engagement.
“The Administrative Court will now process the judicial review application and decide whether to grant permission to proceed. The County Court damages claim will be allocated and a hearing date set. Both proceedings are now running simultaneously.
“I have applied for full fee remission on both claims as I am in receipt of Universal Credit. I am representing myself as a litigant in person so there are no solicitor costs.”
He said his ideal outcome would be for the council to be held publicly accountable for its conduct
“I would also like my brother Kevin to be granted a secure tenancy of our late mother’s adapted bungalow, for my property to be properly repaired and maintained, for the unlawful deductions to be refunded, and for the planning decisions affecting the River Ver to be properly scrutinised. A fair settlement before a full hearing would also be acceptable if it addresses all of those things.”
The council had been given until July 13 to respond substantively to the pre-action letter, and warned that if no adequate response was received, judicial review proceedings would be issued without further notice.
SADC will not comment while legal proceedings are active.
