Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd made the subject of a £115,000 fine
Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd of 47 Berryhill Road, Artigarvan, Strabane were made the subject of a total of £115,000 in fines in relation to three separate cases heard at Strabane Magistrates Court on Thursday 13 August 2026.
Under The Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (PPC Regulations), they were made the subject of a total of £70,000 in fines for seven offences relating to failure to comply with conditions within their permit.
They were also made the subject of a total of £45,000 in fines under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 for nine offences relating to discharging polluting material into the Glenmornan River.
On various dates between February 17 2025 and April 18 2025, officers from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) inspected the Lacpatrick Dairies site on 47 Berryhill Road, Artigarvan, Strabane and observed multiple breaches of their PPC permit contrary to Regulation 36(1)(b) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013.
The breaches observed were in relation to two separate incidents and four offences. These included a damaged pipe which resulted in contaminated discharge entering the surface water drainage system and also a further significant milk spillage resulting in milk entering the river via the surface water drainage system.
These two incidents resulted in breaches which included the failure to implement adequate techniques to protect the surface water drainage system; failure to take prompt remedial action; failure to suspend operations of the plant where an adverse environmental impact was ongoing; failure to notify NIEA; failure to take measures to limit the environmental consequences and to prevent further accidents; and failure to maintain all plant and equipment in good operational condition.
Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd were found to have breached their permit during this time and were fined £10,000 for each of these four offences.
In relation to the above incidents, Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd also, knowingly or otherwise, discharged a polluting matter so that it entered a waterway known as the Glenmornan River resulting in breaches of Article 7(1)(A) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 on three occasions between February 17 2025 and March 14 2025. Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd were fined a total of £5,000 for each of these three offences.
On a further occasion on dates between May 30 2025 and July 4 2025, officers from NIEA observed further breaches of the company’s permit contrary to Regulation 36(1)(b) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013.
The breaches identified were in relation to the operation of the effluent treatment plant where the operator persistently breached the permitted discharge limits to the Glenmornan River during this timeframe.
The breaches included failure to implement adequate techniques to protect the Glenmornan River; failure to implement and maintain a management system, organisational structure and allocate resources to achieve compliance; failure to take prompt remedial action; failure to suspend operations of a plant where adverse environmental impact was ongoing, failure to take immediate actions to limit environmental consequences; failure to maintain all plant and equipment used in good operational condition; failure to submit a schedule 1 notification; and failure to report within 24 hours to NIEA.
Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd were found to have breached their permit during this time and were fined £10,000 for this offence.
Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd also, knowingly or otherwise, discharged a polluting matter so that it entered a waterway known as the Glenmornan River resulting in breaches of Article 7(1)(A) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 on four occasions between June 11 2025 and July 4 2025. Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd were fined £5,000 for each of these four offences.
Further breaches of the company’s PPC permit occurred between the dates of the July 31 2025 and September 8 2025 where officers from NIEA inspected the site on 47 Berryhill Road, Artigarvan, Strabane and observed multiple breaches of the permit contrary to Regulation 36(1)(b) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013.
This incident was in relation to milk entering the Glenmornan River which was a result of a severe degraded effluent line which was allowing untreated milk to enter the surrounding ground. Between July 31 2025 and September 8 2025, the operator discharged a substance known to be toxic to aquatic organisms; the operator failed to use BAT to prevent fugitive emmisions; the operator failed to keep plant and equipment in good operations condition; the operator failed to take prompt remedial action; the operator failed to suspend operations of the plant where an adverse environmental impact was ongoing; the operator failed to take immediate actions to limit environmental consequences and the operator failed to notify NIEA.
Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd were found to have breached the permit between July 31 2025 and August 16 2025, and also between August 17 and September 8 2025. They were fined £10,000 for each of these two offences. Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd also knowingly or otherwise discharged a polluting matter so that it entered a waterway known as the Glenmornan River on July 31 2025 and on September 8 2025 in breach of Article 7(1)(A) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. They were fined £5,000 for each of these two offences. In total, Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd pleaded guilty to seven charges of failure to comply with and did contravene conditions of Pollution Prevention and Control Permit number P0095/05A contrary to Regulation 36(1)(b) and also nine charges under Article 7(1)(A) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 on a site at 47 Berryhill Road, Artigarvan.
In a statement, Lakeland Dairies said it notes the decision of the Court: “The issues before the Court arose as a result of unintended operational circumstances. During this period, and since then, Lakeland Dairies has undertaken substantial investment at the Artigarvan site, including significant upgrades to wastewater treatment infrastructure, enhanced monitoring systems and a range of operational improvements. Lakeland Dairies remains fully committed to continuous improvement and to maintaining the highest standards of environmental compliance.”