A probe into the illegal dumping of toilet waste into a stream during an Oxford festival has ended with a "written warning".
Following the incident, that was described by the Cutteslowe Park festival organisers as "unacceptable", the Environment Agency (EA) launched an investigation, which has now concluded with no action beyond the warning letter.
According to TMC Events 2,500 people attended the weekend event on Friday, August 22 with 1,000 present on both the Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24.
Each day had a different theme including Campfire Country, Beatmasters (90s and 2000s and restricted to over 18s), and We Love It.
READ MORE: Oxford council responds to festival toilet waste dump
While the event was ongoing not only was a local resident upset by the noise, but EA was called following the discovery that the liquid waste from the temporary chemical toilets was being dumped into a stream.
The waterway runs alongside Cutteslowe Park and eventually feeds the River Cherwell; dogs regularly play in it, and it contains a range of wildlife.
A spokesperson for TMC Events – which said the festival was otherwise a “great success” – said they were “appalled”.
They said: “We contract professional companies to remove waste from site, and this is beyond unacceptable and does not fit within our company values.”
The company running the temporary toilets has not been named.
A local woman present at the time called it "disgusting" adding that the stream had a very strong “portaloo smell”.
The next morning (Monday, August 25) after the EA had asked the organisers to clean it up, she said “it still contains 'water' which looks greasy and unclean and still smells a bit”.
Following the incident a spokesperson for EA said: “We attended Cutteslowe Park in Oxford last weekend to investigate a potential pollution incident.
“Our investigation is ongoing. We will not hesitate to take enforcement action where appropriate.”
That enforcement action has now been revealed to be a "written warning" as the investigation is confirmed to have ended.
An EA spokesperson said: “The incident at Cutteslowe Park has been assessed as having minimal impact to the environment and the investigation has concluded.
"The company responsible has been sent a written warning in line with our Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.
“To report an environmental incident please call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060.”
READ MORE: Environment Agency probe toilet waste in Oxford stream
The local resident who saw the waste in the stream said a factor behind the issues was because Oxford City Council had not done due diligence on the festival, perhaps because of the last-minute nature of its approval.
A permit for the festival to go ahead was only granted the day before on Thursday, August 21.
The resident added: “It has granted a Premises Licence for an event to a company based in Liverpool.”
A spokesperson for the council responded: “The application to stage the festival went through due licencing procedures, including consultation."
