A Wiltshire B&B owner has been left furious after his land suffered years of “contamination” from a neighbouring petrol station.
Kevin Heal, the joint owner of Marsh Farm House B&B in Crudwell Road, Malmesbury, first discovered “oil slicks” on his land in July 2021.
He alleges that during this time the neighbouring BP garage, then run by Motor Fuel Group (MFG), was responsible for leaking polluted materials into his ditch and field.
Mr Heal explained that water and “contaminated material” from the garage forecourt entered a discharge system before being separated by an interceptor, which discharged water into his ditch.
But he claims that the “non-maintained interceptor” was discharging oil pollution into the ditch, which then spread to the rest of his field, and his garden, via regular flooding.
Mr Heal said: “My land is contaminated which affects its value but there’s also a health risk because those materials shouldn’t be there.
“I’ve had to spend £6,000 of my own money to establish that my land and my garden is contaminated.
“It’s really messed my life up for the last two years and it’s frustrating as hell when you’re just being ignored.”
Mr Heal’s claims are supported by reports from Oakshire Environmental, who he hired to carry out an independent intrusive site investigation at the field and ditch.
He negotiated with MFG over resolving the issue throughout 2022, and they reportedly offered to clean the ditch out, but was unable to come to an agreement.
Mr Heal is demanding the removal of all traces of contamination and the replacement of his field’s drainage system as part of any remediation agreement.
In April, MFG sold the filling station to SGN Retail, which is now operating at the garage under the banner of Texaco.
A spokesperson for MFG said the contamination was historic and a result of a former discharge consent for Mr Heal’s property.
They added: “MFG purchased Malmesbury Filling Station in November 2019, at which point it had a discharge consent which ran into the property owned by Mr Heal.
“Throughout MFG’s ownership of the station, the company worked with Mr Heal to mitigate the mild, historic contamination that was a result of this historic discharge consent.
“Following the recent sale of the property, MFG fully disclosed current and historical environmental data to the purchaser.
“MFG holds the safety and welfare of its local communities as a top priority, operating responsibly and transparently throughout its fuel station network.”
SGN Retail was contacted for comment but did not respond.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here