Three-year conditional discharge for work completed without a marine licence
On 14 November 2024 Dean Richards was given a three-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £15,000 costs to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) at Truro Crown Court.
Mr Richards was charged in relation to the deposit of an object or objects, in this case spud legs for the purpose of mooring a barge he owns, on or under the seabed from a vessel, without the required marine licence. He pleaded not guilty but was found guilty by a jury at a previous hearing on 1 November 2024.
The court heard that in March 2019, the MMO received an application for a marine licence to deposit spud legs onto the seabed at Truro, Cornwall in order to moor a barge on the foreshore. The application was for the barge to be moored at this location for a period of five years, after which it would be removed.
On 1 October 2020, following a period of consultation, the marine licence application was rejected as Mr Richards had been unable to demonstrate that the proposed works were in compliance with the South West Marine Plan. Mr Richards appealed the decision to refuse the application through the Planning Inspectorate, the Inspectorate did not uphold this appeal.
In February 2022, the MMO was notified that the barge had been brought to Restronguet Creek and moored in place using a spud leg anchor system on the seabed. A subsequent site visit by MMO marine enforcement officers confirmed this.
In sentencing His Honour Judge Carr said that Mr Richards knew he didn’t have a defence and was critical of the fact he let the case go to trial.
Judge Carr closed by giving Mr Richards a three-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £15,000 costs by 23 May 2025. He also reminded Mr Richards that the removal of the spud legs from the seabed would require a marine licence.
Peter Clark, MMO Director of Operations said:
The marine licensing process is vital to the protection of England’s marine environment. The MMO uses the best available scientific evidence when considering marine licence applications. When work goes ahead in England’s seas without the required marine licence we will take the appropriate action, which can include prosecution.