UK Offence Report

Contravention of protection zone control

article 5(1) of The Water Protection Zone (River Dee Catchment) Designation Order 1999

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

1 If at any time on or after the expiry of six months after the date on which this Order comes into force, there is

a contravention of protection zone control, any person causing or knowingly permitting it shall be guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowingly).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly.

What would breach article 5(1)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Water Protection Zone (River Dee Catchment) Designation Order 1999, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£20,000
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
19 March 1999
In force from
21 June 1999
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

Section 93 of the Water Resources Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”) gives the Secretary of State power to designate any area as a water protection zone if, in relation to that area, it is appropriate, with a view to preventing or controlling the entry of any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into controlled waters, to prohibit or restrict the carrying on in that area of activities which the Secretary of State consider are likely to result in the pollution of any such waters. This Order designates as a water protection zone an area forming part of the freshwater River Dee catchment and was made jointly by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Secretary of State for Wales. The area is defined by reference to a map which is available for inspection during normal office hours at the offices of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE; at the offices of the Welsh Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3NQ and at the offices of the Environment Agency (“the Agency”) at Chester Road, Buckley, Clwyd CH7 3AJ. Article 4 requires that the consent of the Agency (“protection zone consent”) must be obtained for the carrying on of a controlled activity within the water protection zone. A controlled activity is the keeping or use of a controlled substance within a catchment control site. Article 5 provides that it is a criminal offence to contravene protection zone control after a specified date. The maximum penalties for an offence are, on summary conviction, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding £20,000 or both, and on conviction on indictment imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both. Article 6 contains transitional provisions for where there is an entitlement to make a claim for protection zone consent in relation to a controlled activity being carried on in the 12 months before this Order comes into force. Article 7 contains a transitional exemption under which an exemption from proceedings for contravention of protection zone control is granted in respect of certain applications for protection zone consent pending their determination. The Secretaries of State have made regulations under section 96 of the 1991 Act entitled the Water Protection Zone (River Dee Catchment) (Procedural and Other Provisions) Regulations 1999. Those Regulations contain the application and appeal procedures for making an application for protection zone consent and also make other provisions in relation to it. A compliance cost assessment of the effect that this Order would have on the cost of business may be obtained from: Water Quality Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE or Environment Division, Welsh Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3NQ.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source