Restriction order at woodland dump is extended

A restriction order preventing the public from entering a Kent woodland where up to 35,000 tonnes of waste has been illegally dumped has been extended until June 2025.

Work to clear Hoads Woods, near Ashford, is set to begin next year, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.

The agency uses restriction orders to close Hoads Wood to prevent further waste being dumped there. The orders last for six months at a time.

Folkestone Magistrates Court has issued a new restriction order for Hoads Wood until July - meaning anyone who accesses the site without consent from the EA or "a reasonable excuse" is committing a criminal offence.

Illegal dumping of waste on a commercial scale at Hoads Wood was at its peak last summer, with between 20 and 30 lorries dumping waste at the site each day.

A spokesperson for the EA said: “A section of Hoads Wood, near Ashford, where shameless criminals dumped 30,000 tonnes of waste illegally, will remain closed while an investigation continues to bring to court those responsible.

“Magistrates have granted the Environment Agency a further six months to restrict unauthorised access to two acres of the woodland in an effort to prevent further dumping.

“Anyone entering the land 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 EA revealed in November that a specialist company had been appointed to remove the waste and that sampling at the site had already begun.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.