A Norfolk waste operator has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for running an illegal waste site that stockpiled thousands of tonnes of soil, wood and construction waste.

Environment Agency (EA) and council officers found tthe waste piled high in the open countryside which, despite several warnings, operator Mark Fuller claimed he thought was legal.

Norwich Crown Court heard last week (17 March) that he ran the illegal site in North Runcton for more than a year from Manor Farm in Common Lane without planning permission and without an environment permit to deposit, store, dispose and treat waste.

In September 2010 Norfolk County Council (NCC) served an enforcement notice on Fuller, requiring him to stop taking waste onto the land and processing the waste. The waste included construction and wood waste. The enforcement notice was issued because the unauthorised uses were in the open countryside and their scale, form and mass cause harm to the landscape and amenity.

The court heard that Fuller appealed the notice in August 2011, but the Planning Inspector upheld the enforcement notice. Fuller then lodged an unsuccessful application for permission to appeal against the Inspector’s decision with the High Court, which delayed the effective date of the enforcement notice.

Mark Watson, prosecuting on behalf of NCC and the EA, told the court that despite correspondence, discussions, meetings and site visits by officers, Fuller failed to respond to advice and continued to operate illegally.

In November 2012, EA and council officers inspected the site and found a large stockpile of wood waste, amounting to many thousands of tonnes between 12 and 15 metres high. Additionally, there had been thousands of tonnes of soil, construction and demolition waste imported and stockpiled.

Fuller told investigating officers that he had not received the letters from the EA and said he thought the operation was legal. In court, Fuller pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to comply with an enforcement notice and one of operating a regulated facility without being authorised by an environmental permit.

Significant risk to local communities

Commenting after the case, Enforcement Team Leader Phil Henderson said: “The operation of illegal waste sites pose significant risk to our environment and local communities, particularly where this involves the wholesale stockpiling of waste, as in this case.

“This sentence reflects the seriousness with which the Environment Agency, our partners and the courts view this type of criminal offending and we will seek to prosecute those involved wherever possible. Operators need to ensure that they obtain the appropriate permission to operate waste sites and comply with the conditions of their permit.”

NCC officer Mike Adams added: “This is a case that has stretched the powers of planning enforcement to the limit. The defendant refused to engage with the planning system; appeals, including the High Court challenged with very little merit were designed to frustrate the enforcement procedure and have lengthened and increased the cost of this process.

“Three days after pleading guilty, NCC’s investigations confirmed that Fuller was continuing to breach the Enforcement Notice. The Council is determined that this type of activity will not be allowed to continue in such a sensitive location.”