Company director fined £1,272 for abandoning Shropshire waste site

  • Environment Agency brings prosecution after waste site abandoned

  • Defendant pleaded guilty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court

  • Waste was stored in breach of permit conditions

Jonathan Wells, of Condover, Shrewsbury, pleaded guilty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on 19 November 2021 to breaching conditions of an environmental waste permit including abandoning the site operated by LMS Skips Limited in Bromfield, Ludlow.

The court fined Wells, who was the sole director, a total of £1,272 (£636 for each charge), ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £127 and a contribution to prosecution costs of £500.

Between October 2016 and November 2017, officers visited the site and it was clear that too much waste was being accepted. 

Large amounts of waste, including domestic and commercial waste was being stored on the ground, outside of buildings and not in containers in breach of permit conditions. 

Several reports were issued to LMS Skips Limited notifying them of permit breaches. 

Initially the defendant was on site, but on 2 October 2017 there was no one on site. Officers attempted to contact Mr Wells without success. 

Unbeknown to the Environment Agency, Mr Wells had abandoned the site on 11 September 2017.  It subsequently became a fly tipping hotspot.  Neighbouring units suffered with pest issues due to the volumes of waste. 

The site was sold following liquidation of LMS Skips and cleared in 2018 at a cost of £45,000.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said:

The Environment Agency takes waste crime very seriously and is committed to prosecuting when an offence has been committed.

We are determined to make life hard for criminals. We support legitimate business and we are proactively supporting them by disrupting and stopping the criminal element.

We urge all those seeking to become involved in the waste industry to ensure they have the appropriate permits and authorisations.

If you have any suspicions that waste crime is taking place please contact the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.

Charges

  1. Between the 2 October 2016 and 29 November 2017, LMS Skips Limited at Station Garage, Bromfield, Ludlow, did breach conditions 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 of Environmental Permit Number EPR/AB3407LH (formerly waste management licence EAWML46002) in that it stored waste outside of buildings and not within containers, contrary to Regulations 12 and 38 of the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016 and the offence was committed with the consent, connivance or neglect of Jonathan Wells as a director of the company, contrary to Regulation 41 of the same Regulations.

  2. Between 15 June 2017 and 7 December 2017, LSM Skips Limited at “Station Garage”, Bromfield, Ludlow, did breach condition 1.9.2 of Environmental Permit Number EPR/AB3407LH (formerly waste management licence EAWML46002) in that it abandoned the site without notifying the Environment Agency of its cessation of waste management operations contrary to Regulations 12 and 38 of the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016 and the offence was committed with the consent, connivance or neglect of Jonathan Wells as a director of the company, contrary to Regulation 41 of the same Regulations.