Company fined £18k for failing to clear waste

A property company has been fined £18,465 for failing to clear about 4,000 tonnes of waste.

B46 Properties Limited had bought land on Brickyard Farm in Fradley, Staffordshire, where a waste company was storing general waste including bricks and wood.

When the waste operator went into liquidation and left the site, the property company became responsible for clearing the waste and was required to do so by December 2023.

The property company, of Stechford, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the order.

A substantial amount of waste remained on the site after the company breached the notice by the Environment Agency to clear the land.

Company director Gary Hambleton informed the Environment Agency that the waste was being cleared as and when funds were available but that the company would not borrow money or go into overdraft.

A charge against him was dropped.

Imogen Smith from the Environment Agency said that the sentence should "act as a deterrent to others considering flouting the law".

"This site posed a significant environmental threat due to the high risk of fire and potentially significant impact to local communities and amenities," she said.

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