Timothy Charles Harris, R (on the application of) v Natural England

Facts

Mr Timothy Harris owns the eastern part of Catfield Fen, an area of around 63 ha forming part of the Ant Broads and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest and the wider Broads Special Area of Conservation. Natural England is the statutory nature conservation body for the site but does not own it. To the north lies Fenside, an unclassified road with grips (land drains) cut by Norfolk County Council, and beyond it farmland owned by Mr Alston. The claimant's concern was that phosphates and nitrogen run off Mr Alston's fields, cross Fenside and pass through the grips into the Fen, causing eutrophication. He first raised the issue through his land agent in April 2021 and commissioned reports from Howland Associates, the first sent to Natural England in January 2024. Natural England's own February 2024 Enforcement Questionnaire accepted the pollution pathway and its harmful effect. A Pollution Reduction Plan followed in August 2024, but little was done on the ground, and Natural England's own sampling was not reliably completed until 2026. The claimant commenced judicial review on 4 July 2025, alleging failure to protect the Fen in breach of regulation 9(1) of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive.