The owner of a Cornish waste disposal business has been ordered to pay almost £80,000 in fines and costs for illegally storing and treating waste including asbestos at a site near Penzance.

The site manager was also prosecuted and ordered to pay a total of £6,000 in fines and costs. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

Leslie Allen ran a waste operation from a site in Perranuthnoe where waste from various commercial and domestic sources was illegally processed. The site was also used to store hazardous waste including asbestos. The storage and bulking of waste requires an Environment Agency permit.

Truro Crown Court heard how the defendant operated without a permit despite receiving advice and guidance from the Environment Agency and assuring officers he would apply for a permit. The business had traded for some 18 years.

An investigation was launched by the Environment Agency in 2014 after officers suspected Les Allen Waste Disposal Services was still operating illegally. The transfer of waste was often not recorded and when it was, the records were either inadequate or misleading.

Waste was recorded as being taken from a customer direct to an approved site when, in actual fact, it was transported to Perranuthnoe for sorting before being taken to various sites. The business benefitted financially from operating without an environmental permit.

During their investigation, Environment Agency officers recovered asbestos from a pile of waste at the site. It had not been bagged or stored in a secure container as is required by law.

Sentencing Allen and his site manager, Richard Shore, Judge Carr said the handling of asbestos was a ‘great responsibility’ and the defendants had exposed themselves and others to risk. He said poor record keeping meant we would never know what waste went through the site.

On 5 February 2016, the Environment Agency discovered Leslie Allen was continuing to run an illegal waste operation despite having been interviewed under caution and giving an assurance he would stop. The business was operating a crusher and swing shovel on land near Sunnyvale Farm, Rosudgeon, Penzance and treating mixed construction and demolition waste to raise a ground level without an Environment Agency authorisation.

Sophie Unsworth of the Environment Agency said:

Waste sites must operate within the law and always put human health and the environment above financial gain. This is especially important for sites receiving hazardous waste such as asbestos.

Despite being given repeated advice and guidance by the Environment Agency, the owner chose to continue to operate illegally, receiving, handling and storing waste, without a permit.

Leslie Allen was fined £40,000 for two offences under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 including, between 17 November 2014 and 6 November 2015 and 5 February 2016 operating a regulated facility, namely a waste operation at The Workshop, Perranuthnoe Lane, Perranuthnoe and on land adjacent to Sunnyvale Farm, Rosudgeon, Penzance without an environmental permit.

He was also ordered to pay £14,200 costs and £25,772 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Allen was warned that failure to pay would result in a 9-month prison sentence.

The site manager, Richard Shore, was fined £4,000 for the same offences and ordered to pay £2,000 costs.

The sentencing hearing took place at Truro Crown Court on 10 April 2017.

The Environment Agency is currently running a Right Waste Right Place campaign aimed at small to medium sized businesses who need waste advice.

Notes to editor

• Waste crime can cause serious pollution to the environment, puts communities at risk and undermines local businesses. It’s a serious issue, diverting as much as £1 billion a year from legitimate business and the Treasury.
• Waste crime is an issue that we and the government take very seriously. The Environment Agency has enhanced powers – introduced in 2015 – to tackle illegal activity at waste sites.
• The Environment Agency stopped nearly 1,000 illegal waste sites from operating in 2015/16.
• 97% of waste management operators are well run and provide a much needed waste management service. But we take tough action against poor performing companies and those who commit waste crime.
• If you see waste crime report it by calling our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).

This decision includes the permit and decision document for:

• Operator name: G.H. and V.E. Davies and Son Limited
• Installation name: Sugden Poultry Unit
• Permit number: EPR/GP3738DQ/A001

On 13 April 2017, at Barkingside Magistrates court, Billy Cox was fined £300 for fishing without the required number of rod licences, with costs of £127 and a victim surcharge of £30 imposed after a prosecution by the Environment Agency.

Magistrates heard that on 8 September 2016, an Environment Agency enforcement officer found Billy Cox fishing with 3 rods and lines at White Hart Lakes, Dagenham. He was only able to produce one valid licence and further licence checks confirmed that he did not have a second licence to cover the use of his third rod. At the time of the incident a rod licence permitted the use of up to 2 rods and lines which was clearly stated in the terms and conditions supplied with the licence. He was reported for the offence of not being able to produce the required number of licences when challenged by the bailiff.

Billy Cox was convicted in his absence.

Darren Wakenell, of the Environment Agency, said:

The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a fishing licence. We invest the money from fishing licences back into fisheries improvements, fish stocks and fishing, this is essential for the future of the sport.

The minority of anglers that fail to buy a fishing licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport. In addition, fishing licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.

During 2015-2016 the Environment Agency checked more than 62,000 fishing licences and prosecuted more than 1,900 anglers for rod and line offences resulting in fines and costs in excess of £500,000.

Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report them directly to the Environment Agency hotline, 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

You need a valid Environment Agency fishing licence if you are aged 12 or over and fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England.

Junior fishing licences (aged 12-16) are now free, but you must still get a fishing licence online.

Contact

For media enquiries please call us on 0800 141 2743.

Or email us at southeastpressoffice1@environment-agency.gov.uk

Michael Lear and Jantiene Klein Roseboom van der Veer have been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Lord Gardiner of Kimble.

Additionally, Trustees Ian Karet and Val Gooding have been reappointed for second terms.

The two new appointments will run from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020 and 1 November 2017 to 31 October 2020, respectively. The reappointments will run from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020 and 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2020, respectively.

The appointments have been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.

In accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public. The appointees have not declared any political activity in the past five years.

Trustees do not receive any direct remuneration for their services, although reasonable travel and subsistence expenses can be reimbursed.

Biographical details of Trustees

Michael Lear

Michael Lear is currently a co-Director and Landscape Architect for Lear Associates and, among other roles, is a member of the National Trust’s Historic Environment Panel and a member of the Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Committee.

Jantiene Klein Roseboom van der Veer

Jantiene Klein Roseboom van der Veer is a landscape architect. She has been Managing Director since 2007 of Imagination Design Ltd, which has a strong focus on heritage, conservation and habitat restoration, with experience of working with heritage assets and protected landscapes. Since 2006, Jantiene has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Henri Moerel Foundation, which supports the development of musicians and heritage projects. Previously, Jantiene worked at a senior level in investor relations in large companies in the Netherlands and the UK.

Ian Karet

Ian Karet read Chemistry at Oxford before qualifying as a solicitor. He is a partner at Linklaters where he specialises in intellectual property and technology. He has served on the board of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property and writes and speaks on intellectual property issues.

Val Gooding

In addition to her role on Kew’s Board of Trustees, Val Gooding is currently a non-executive director of the BBC, Standard Chartered and J Sainsbury’s. Val joined Bupa in 1996, becoming Chief Executive in 1998, doubling the company’s turnover and customer numbers in her ten-year tenure, before retiring from Bupa in 2008.

Further information

• RBG Kew is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body created under the National Heritage Act 1983, sponsored by Defra and which operates under a Board of Trustees.

• The Board of Trustees for RBG Kew comprises a Chairman and 11 members. Ten members and the Chairman are appointed by the Secretary of State. Her Majesty the Queen appoints her own Trustee on the recommendation of the Secretary of State.

Today (Thursday 20 April 2017), the Environment Agency and police carried out 5 dawn raids following an in-depth investigation into illegal dumping of waste. There were 2 people arrested pending further enquiries. A third person will also be helping Environment Agency officers with their enquiries.

Enforcement action took place at 5 separate addresses in Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Hertfordshire this morning following an investigation into illegal dumping of 20,000 – 25,000 tonnes of waste at 17 sites across the Midlands, North West and North East.

More than 25 Environment Agency investigators, supported by over 20 police officers from Staffordshire, West Mercia, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire Police forces were in action at suspects’ homes and business addresses seeking evidence as part of Operation Cesium.

The investigation will now continue with the evidence seized today. This investigation is expected to continue for many more months.

Paul Clarke, lead investigator in the Environment Agency’s National Investigation Team, said:

The Environment Agency takes waste crime seriously and we will persistently pursue those suspected of illegally dumping waste.

In this case we have 17 landowners and communities blighted by significant amounts of dumped waste. We’ve already seen some of these sites catch fire, causing significant impact on communities, the environment and our emergency services partners who have to tackle them.

Illegal waste activity of the likes we’re investigating here diverts £1billion from legitimate businesses and the treasury, and at the Environment Agency we do everything we can to bring those responsible to account.

This investigation has been ongoing since last summer and enquiries will continue to examine the evidence to determine the full extent of the suspected offences.

The Environment Agency takes waste crime extremely seriously. This is a live and complex investigation, anyone with further information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.