A Bedale man has been given two months to clear waste from an illegal site in Catterick Village following an investigation by the Environment Agency (EA).
Oliver Henry Alexander King, 52, appeared at York Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a waste site without an environmental permit and one charge of failing to comply with a notice to clear waste from the site.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 110 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay costs of £5,422.75 and a victim surcharge of £114.
He was also ordered to clear the site of waste by March 21.
The order requires King to remove all waste from the site and take it to a permitted site for disposal.
If he fails to comply he could be subject to further action.
Ian Foster, Environment Agency Area Environment Manager, said: “Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and environment and the way the waste was stored at this site posed a risk of contamination and fire.
“King was given a number of opportunities to clear the site of waste but failed to comply with the instructions from our officers.
“Illegal activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the environment at risk and impacting on the local community.”
The court heard that King rented land next to allotments at Oran Lane in Catterick Village.
On June 22, 2023, Environment Agency officers attended the site following reports of an illegal waste operation.
The found a large amount of waste piled up including wood, plastics, metal, and construction and demolition waste, as well as household waste such as fridges and freezers.
Officials said the waste was close to a local watercourse and posed a risk of groundwater and surface water pollution.
As it was stored in one big pile they also said it posed a fire risk.
An Environment Agency letter was sent to King with actions including to stop bringing waste onto the site and to start clearing the waste that was already present immediately. He was given until August 21, 2023 to comply.
Follow-up visits by officers revealed that while some waste had been removed, most still remained.
It did appear King had stopped bringing waste on to site and he said financial and vehicle issues had prevented the waste from being removed.
He was given until February 28, 2024, to comply with the original deadline.
On March 20, 2024, Environment Agency officers went to the site to check compliance with the notice and it was clear that the pile of waste remained unchanged.
In an interview in May 2024, King said he claimed to have been unaware that he needed an environmental permit or waste exemption – which allows for low level waste activity without the need for a permit – until he was told this by the Environment Agency.
He said he stopped importing and treating waste after the initial visit from officers but didn’t have the money to remove the waste.
He added that he owned property which he planned to sell to fund the site clearance.
Follow-up visits by officers during the summer of 2024 saw that while some waste had been cleared, most still remained.
An enforcement notice was issued by the Environment Agency requiring the site to be cleared by August 23, 2024. This was also not complied with.
Illegal waste activity can be reported to the Environment Agency on its 24-hour incident line on 0800 807060 or to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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