Man prosecuted for dumping and burning waste illegally
A Teesside man illegally dumped and burned waste on a site on the Tees Estuary next to a protected area noted for its wetland bird habitat, a court has heard. The Environment Agency warned the man that he was required to stop running the illegal operation, but he continued to offend for a further five months.
The site is next to Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast Special Protection Area which protects rare and vulnerable birds, including regularly migrating species.
Following an Environment Agency investigation Jamie Thomas Rose, of Middlesbrough, appeared at Teesside Magistrates Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to two charges of breaching the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
The court heard that Rose deposited and burned waste at the site at Hope Street Industrial Estate in Haverton Hill, Stockton, between January and August 2014.
On January 15 officers from the Environment Agency visited the site and saw piles of mixed household waste with further enquiries revealing there was neither an environmental permit nor any exemptions in place. Further visits were made where evidence of further waste being left and burned was found.
Rose was interviewed and admitted operating the business without a permit. He was given clear advice and guidance on what he needed to do to legitimise his operation.
In July it was found some waste had been cleared, but during subsequent visits there was evidence that waste was still being dumped and burned without a permit and that the business was continuing to run.
The man was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, and with six-month probation supervision. He was also ordered to pay £2,526.25 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Man prosecuted for unauthorised vehicle dismantling
A Gateshead man has admitted to knowingly permitting unlicensed vehicle dismantling to take place on land he was renting. Paul McKenzie allowed Tyne Auto to trade from a site in Brewery Lane, Gateshead, which contained more than 200 wheels and tyres, assorted engines, exhausts and other vehicle parts.
He was told repeatedly by the Environment Agency to stop dismantling vehicles on the land but continued operating without a permit.
McKenzie pleaded guilty to a charge against Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 when he appeared at Sunderland Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 7.
He was sentenced to a 12 month community order and 250 hours of unpaid work, as well as being ordered to pay £2,000 costs.
On one visit to the site officers saw the defendant with a recovery truck which was hitched to a car. On another visit officers found a car on its side that had been set alight.
Checks on a number of vehicles on the Brewery Lane site identified at least seven of them had been sold for scrap as MOT failures or “write offs”. McKenzie had originally claimed the cars belonged to his cousin and were going to be restored or repaired.
He challenged the need for an environmental permit, saying he was simply “moving second hand cars around the site”.
Man jailed for operating an illegal waste site
On 30 April 2015, Robert Murphy of Burton-upon-Trent was sentenced to 7 months imprisonment, following a contested Newton Hearing for an offence of operating a waste facility on land off the A38 in Eggington near Burton-upon-Trent.
Murphy, who did not own the land, continued to operate on the site despite advice and guidance, a stop letter, the changing of the locks to the site entrance, the deployment of CCTV and the deployment of a concrete block by the Environment Agency to prevent access to the land.
Over a 15-month period from 3 January 2013 to 28 June 2014, Murphy used the land which belonged to a vulnerable local couple to deposit, store and burn large quantities of mixed waste including metal, wood, electrical items and construction and demolition waste. Murphy did not have permission to use the land nor did he have an environmental permit. The land has been left in a state of complete ruin.
The court heard from a number of witnesses, one of whom gave evidence behind screens, and HHJ Chambers concluded that an immediate custodial sentence was the only option given the seriousness of the defendant’s actions.
Confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 have been scheduled to seek compensation for the landowner to pay for some of the clean-up costs.
|
