Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris is visiting sites across the East of England today (6 August 2021) to see the extensive work undertaken by Network Rail and Greater Anglia to build back better and greener across the network.

The work, supported by the Department for Transport (DfT), has seen the number of train delays halved in Clacton and new ticket gates are helping to speed up journeys at Liverpool Street station.

A £37 million project, funded by DfT, to upgrade tracks, overhead lines and signalling in the Clacton area was completed in March this year. The new, modern tech replaces a decades-old system and is already delivering a better service for passengers, with time lost to delays in each direction cut by between a third and a half since work finished.

Greater Anglia’s biodiversity drive involves the train operator’s volunteer station adopters ramping up efforts to increase the level of flora and fauna and provide havens for wildlife next to the railway line across its network. This helps stations to become an even more valuable part of their communities, supporting the sustainable development and environmental health of their area.

The adopters now collectively manage such a large area – the equivalent of 5 Olympic-sized swimming pools – that Greater Anglia has pledged all 56 station gardens to the WildEast initiative, a local movement committed to returning 20% of East Anglia back to nature.

The train operator is also teaming up with Network Rail to cut emissions from vehicles waiting at its 800 level crossings, in its ‘Switch If Off’ campaign. Launched earlier in the summer, the campaign is also drawing on the resources of the region’s 6 community rail partnerships to help achieve its aim.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton Harris said:

We are working tirelessly to decarbonise transport. For rail that doesn’t just mean cutting the emissions of trains, it also means making the environment around our railways greener for everyone.

By reducing delays, improving air quality and protecting the beautiful scenery around our railways, Greater Anglia, Network Rail and volunteers across the region are doing exceptional work to make services even better for passengers returning to the network.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said:

Greater Anglia is committed to sustainability – including doing our bit to tackle climate change and improve biodiversity, which are 2 of the biggest threats to society at the moment.

The railway is one of the most sustainable forms of transport available and, for us, sustainability is about everything we do, from new greener trains, encouraging biodiversity at stations and doing our best to support our local communities.

We are very grateful to our amazing team of station adopters for the fantastic work they do to help us make their communities better and greener.

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail route director, said:

Over the last 16 months, we’ve continued to make improvements to the railway for passengers and freight. As people start to travel in greater numbers, this work means they’re returning to a network that’s more reliable than it was before the pandemic.

The £37 million upgrade of new signals and track at Clacton has significantly improved train services on this line. It has reduced delays and improved the passenger experience.

I know it’s important we build back greener, so we’re also using railway land to support biodiversity. We’ve been working with local charities to plant trees and other vegetation to create natural wildlife habitats around the Anglia route.

A 62-year-old Essex man found guilty of fraud and providing unqualified immigration advice has been handed three suspended prison sentences.

Winston Leachman of Farmway, Dagenham, Essex, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 5 August to 20 months imprisonment for fraud and 20 months imprisonment for providing unqualified immigration advice, to run concurrently.

These offences are contrary to section 91 of the immigration and asylum act 1999 and section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006 respectively.

In addition, he was given three concurrent sentences of two months for previously failing to appear in court to run consecutively to the above.

In total 22 months imprisonment to be suspended for two years.

The victim was originally introduced to Mr Leachman by family friends in July 2016.

He said that he was able to assist her with a Leave To Remain application because of his experience in the industry.

In fact, he was not qualified to do so, making the wrong application which was subsequently refused. Consequently, the victim lost her job because of her unresolved immigration status. He then failed to return the £800 he charged.

Mr Leachman was also ordered to pay £800 compensation to the victim, £5,000 contribution to prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £140.

He will be placed under a three-month curfew where he will be electronically tagged between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM and must remain at his home address during these hours each day.

John Tuckett, Immigration Services Commissioner said: “This is not a technical or victimless crime. Mr Leachman was advising a vulnerable person who could not handle her immigration case on her own.

“I am delighted with the outcome in this case.”

Notes to Editors

The OISC is an independent public body, established under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to regulate the provision of immigration advice and services in the UK.

Media queries to Cornelius Alexander, Corporate Communications Business Partner at the OISC via communications@oisc.gov.uk.

After pleading guilty the court fined Environcom England Limited, of Grantham, for failing to comply with its environmental permit.

The company was ordered to pay £35,000 costs to the Environment Agency. In addition, the company agreed to give £20,000 to the Lincolnshire Rivers Trust in respect to other related matters.

In March 2016, at the height of breaching its operating conditions, Environcom had approximately 2,900 bags or 3,234 tonnes of fine plastic. The fine plastic is known as polyurethane (PUR) and was stored on site far in excess of the permitted amount. The weight was almost 65 times more than the permit allowed.

The Environment Agency became so concerned about operations at the site, along with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Health and Safety Executive and local authority partners, that its officers visited the business 15 times in 4 years.

Yvonne Daly, the Environment Agency’s environment manager in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said:

Poor management and a lack of contingency planning at Environcom resulted in an ongoing fire and pollution risk at the premises.

We undertook numerous visits to the site working closely with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service who we thank for their support throughout the investigation.

I hope this prosecution acts to remind Environcom and other waste business of their obligations.

The court heard that Environcom operates a waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling plant. It treats and stores waste through an environmental permit granted by the Environment Agency, which provides conditions that must be complied with to protect the environment. When refrigerators and freezers are recycled, they produce a waste by-product called PUR dust.

PUR is a very fine plastic, which can be ignitable and presents a potential fire hazard. Also, fine waste such as PUR is almost impossible to remove if it escapes into the wider environment, causing plastic pollution if not stored correctly.

Environcom originally had a company that accepted its PUR waste but were informed by them that they could no longer do so due to a fire at their premises in April 2015. Despite this, Environcom continued to accept waste at the site and it far exceeded the permitted amount. This caused a potential fire risk at the site.

The outcome was a result of a joint approach between the Environment Agency, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities.

Environcom England Ltd pleaded guilty to one charge of breaching their permit contrary to Regulation 38(2) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

The case of Environcom England Ltd of Spittlegate Level, Grantham, was heard at Lincoln magistrates’ court on Friday 30 July for sentence where it was fined £100. The company pleaded guilty to one offence at an earlier hearing.