OEP welcomes Court of Appeal decision in Pickering Fishery Association case

Article summary

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has welcomed the Court of Appeal's decision in R (Pickering Fishery Association) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2025] EWCA Civ 378, which clarifies the correct interpretation of water quality laws. The court ruled that government programmes of measures under the Water Framework Directive Regulations 2017, SI 2017/407 (WFD Regulations) must specify actions for each water body to meet environmental objectives.  It dismissed the Secretary of State's appeal, ruling the current approach by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA) in preparing and approving River Basin Management Plans as unlawful. The OEP, which intervened in the appeal, stated that this ruling will inform its ongoing investigation into potential non-compliance by Defra and the EA with the WFD Regulations. The OEP plans to engage with these bodies to understand their intended actions to address the court's findings...