Payout over death of calves

A Shropshire farmer could receive thousands of pounds in an out-of-court settlement after land contamination caused the deaths of five of his calves.

Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough and Shropshire County Council have agreed to pay Chris Balmer who claims he suffered financial losses as a result of the contamination which came to light in 2001.

The calves died when a disused drain, which had served SCC-owned White Tip, leaked on to fields at his Snailbeach Farm in 2001.

A lengthy row ensued over who was responsible for the costs of the clean-up before SABC councillors agreed to plough £55,000 into cleaning up the land in 2005 following an initial £42,000 investigation into the source of contamination.

Some of the clean-up costs were recouped through a Defra grant. Now, in a report ahead of SABC's full council meeting next week, councillors are being asked to approve a supplementary estimate of £20,000 to cover the legal costs of Mr Balmer.

David Spode, borough council manager for pollution, said: "It's a claim for loss of income from use of that particular field. This is something that has been agreed for some of the money requested to cover the settlement. We are negotiating the final amount and £20,000 is to cover the worst case scenario."

Gareth Proffitt, spokesman for Shropshire County Council, said: "Shropshire County Council has already agreed a compensation settlement with Mr Balmer - this was split 50/50 with SABC. Our solicitors are currently in negotiations with SABC's solicitors to agree a further settlement towards Mr Balmer's legal costs."