A wealthy heiress has been given a £28,000 fine for exceeding water restrictions during a drought by the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools.
Charlotte Townshend, 70, inherited the Ilchester estate in Dorset when she was in her mid-30s and is now said to be worth about £489 million.
In addition to the 15,000 acres of land in the West Country, Townshend is also reported to own at least 20 acres of property in Holland Park, one of the wealthiest areas of London.
Officials at the Environment Agency have said that the Ilchester estate was licensed to extract 66.6 cubic metres of water daily from the River Frome in Dorset, a sensitive chalk stream.
That equated to about 12,100 cubic metres over a six-month period – but Townshend was found to have exceeded that amount by nearly 7,500 cubic metres, or the equivalent of three Olympic-sized swimming pools of water.
The water was said to have been used to supply homes and offices on the Dorset estate as well as water gardens and farms between the end of 2022 and July 2023, when Wessex was officially in a drought.
Justifying the fine, Carolyn Lane, a senior officer at the agency, explained that “chalk streams are stunningly beautiful but ecologically sensitive watercourses”.
She added that “where companies or individuals hold licences to take water from them, they cannot ignore the conditions attached and take as much water as they like”.
Officials found that the Ilchester estate “not only deliberately flouted the conditions”, but did so “during a drought, when it is likely that damage will have been done to the river and the surrounding environment it supports”.
The River Frome is one of only 200 chalk streams in the world, of which 85 per cent are in the UK. The streams contain mineral-rich pure water and are havens for wildlife, according to the environment agency.
The estate has now paid a penalty of nearly £19,800 as well as costs of about £8,300.
Agency officials noted that the estate had been warned previously to stop over-abstracting water. In 2018, it was advised of the process of applying for an increase to permitted abstraction levels.
Townshend was ranked at number 287 on the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List, having moved up 16 places over the previous year and increasing her wealth by £25 million over the 12 months.
She inherited her wealth from her parents, the 9th Viscount Galway and Lady Theresa, the daughter of the 7th Earl of Ilchester. Her holdings include 15,000 acres in Dorset, where she also runs the Abbotsbury Swannery, the world’s only managed colony of nesting mute swans. The swannery was bought by her ancestors from Henry VIII in 1543.
Townshend is said to be the only person in the UK other than the King who is allowed to own swans.
She is believed to own a further 3,000 acres of land in Nottinghamshire and properties in Yorkshire.