A CONTROVERSIAL housebuilder fined £300,000 for chopping down an historic redwood tree has been prosecuted again – this time for polluting a river.

Enzo’s Homes Ltd has been fined £20,000 for polluting a tributary of a 13-mile long river in Gwent.

It comes after director Fiorenzo Sauro, 54, was fined £300,000 after paying for 70 protected trees to be chopped down in Swansea – including one of Britain's first ever giant redwoods.

Environmental officers from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) officers found illegal water discharge activities at an Enzo’s Homes site in Cwmbran between December 2022 and March 2023.

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They found that the pollution was caused by water run-off from Abbey Woods which had been contaminated with silt.

(Image: Enzo's Homes Ltd polluted a tributary of the River Llwyd. Natural Resources Wales) The silt polluting the river can harm fish and other invertebrates, by clogging their gills and reducing light in the water.

The company based in Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire had a warning letter after NRW raised concerns with Enzo’s staff regarding the silt fences on site and their ability to cope with heavy rain.

Officers had also met with site managers from Enzo’s Homes multiple times on mitigation measures needed to minimise the risk of polluting the Dowlais Brook, a tributary of the River Llwyd.

But on a site visit on January 12 last year, NRW officers found that overnight rainfall had completely overwhelmed the mitigation measures in place.

Although some attempts had been made to improve the mitigation measures concerns remained on the build-up of silt behind the fences and how it would cope with more rainfall.

That month, NRW officers collected water samples from the river adjacent to the building site which showed high levels of suspended solids – small solid particles which remain in suspension in water.

Enzo’s Homes pleaded guilty at Cwmbran Magistrates' Court to causing an illegal water discharge activity under Environmental Permitting Regulations.

The firm was fined £20,000, ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and NRW costs of £7,389.42.

Alastair Krzyzosiak, environment officer for NRW, said: “The construction industry has a duty of care to the communities in which they operate, to ensure the correct controls and safeguards are in place in order to prevent incidents such as these occurring.

“If construction companies plan properly, even during periods of very heavy rain, there should be no ecological impact.

“I hope this fine will send out a clear message that environmental legislation is to be taken seriously.

"We will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those who disregard regulations and jeopardise the natural environment we all know and love.”