Anyone entering the site without reasonable excuse or written permission from the Environment Agency will be committing a criminal offence
Land on the Isle of Sheppey where the Environment Agency is investigating waste dumped illegally will stay out of bounds to the public. Magistrates have agreed to continue restricting unauthorised access to the area known as Eastchurch Gap, near Third Avenue in Eastchurch, for another 6 months.
Anyone entering the site without reasonable excuse or written permission from the Environment Agency will be committing a criminal offence, as will anyone who tampers with the locked gate or the restriction order attached to it.
The land was closed in June last year after shredded household and builders waste was dumped there. The gate has been locked ever since, with concrete blocks put in front of the site.
Matt Higginson, environment manager for the Environment Agency in Kent, said, “Specialist officers regularly inspect the land at Eastchurch Gap in order to disrupt the illegal dumping of waste. Our priority is protecting the Eastchurch community and environment. The restriction order was originally secured following local people’s concerns and the environmental impact of the tipping of waste at the site, which we share. Our criminal investigation into a number of illegal waste sites in Kent, including Eastchurch Gap, continues.”
The updated closure orders for Eastchurch Gap and Hoads Wood come as the Environment Agency consults on proposals to fund more investment in regulation of the waste industry.
Plans put out for comment include a waste levy to increase enforcement activity by a third; a greater ability to recoup the costs of regulation; and new charges for certain activities on farms that don’t require an environmental permit.
The consultation began last month and stays open until 20 January.
The Environment Agency’s powers to stop waste crime include prosecuting those believed to be behind dumping waste illegally, which can lead to prison sentences.
Restriction orders, like those used to close Eastchurch Gap and part of Hoads Wood, are among other measures to combat waste crime. Illegal waste activity harms the environment and has a devastating effect on communities.
Failure to comply with one is a criminal offence.
Enforcement action already carried out as part of the wider criminal investigation into waste crime in Kent includes waste carriers given a combined 9 fixed penalty notices totalling £2,300.
In that operation, Kent Police also sanctioned lorries for insecure loads, driving without insurance and/or a licence, not wearing a seatbelt, and a vehicle having defective tyres.
Magistrates first granted the Environment Agency a 6-month restriction order closing the site at Eastchurch Gap in June 2023. This was renewed last Christmas and in June this year.
The current order, signed at Folkestone magistrates’ court on 29 November, keeps Eastchurch Gap closed until June next year.
Magistrates also approved a 6-month extension to a similar order for Hoads Wood, restricting unofficial access to 2 acres of woodland until next summer. The Environment Agency recently appointed a specialist company to clear 30,000 tonnes of waste dumped by shameless criminals.
Restriction orders are granted under the Environment Act 1995.
While most waste sites are operated responsibly, the Environment Agency acts against those who flout the law.
In the year to March 2023, the Environment Agency closed 482 illegal waste sites across England, securing 83 prosecutions against waste criminals who were either jailed or fined a total of £5.7m and ordered to pay another £1.4m in costs.
