Press release: Colne man sentenced for running illegal landfill

John Leslie Allison (72) of Southfield Lane, Colne, Lancashire, was sentenced on Friday 5 January 2018 at Preston Crown Court having pleaded guilty and been convicted on 7 July 2017 to the offence of operating an unpermitted waste facility. He was also ordered to pay the Environment Agency’s investigation costs of £9,190.64 in full.

Sentencing was postponed whilst the Court directed investigations into Mr Allison’s means.

In September the Court heard how Mr Allison had deliberately, over a 10-month period, between 20 September 2015 and 15 June 2016, been seen to repeatedly dispose of waste on land previously used for grazing livestock. This activity had continued despite a number of verbal and written warnings from the Environment Agency and a formal notice requiring him to clear waste from the land.

Sites where waste is disposed of by burying require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency and are subject to strict conditions and considerable investment in infrastructure to manage risks to the environment.

The illegal operation of this site has caused considerable concern to a number of local residents and potential harm to the environment.

The Environment Agency had sought to work with Mr Allison to bring about a change in his behaviour and had provided him with a number of opportunities to take action to remove waste from the land off Delves Lane.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

Mr Allison has entirely failed to respond to our efforts and, even following an interview under caution, continued to import waste to the land without regard to warnings given by the Environment Agency.

Waste crime is a serious offence, which can damage the environment, undermine legitimate business and cause misery for local residents.

The Environment Agency is determined to make life hard for criminals. Our specialist crime unit uses intelligence to track and prosecute those involved in illegal waste activity and we rely on information from the public to bring those responsible to justice.