Biggest Flytip in UK history ?

[hifinutt]

This is utterly crazy . how the heck can they get away with this

Campaigners and community members living near an ancient bluebell woodland in Kent say it has been turned into a "desolate wasteland", buried under uncleared, "illegally" dumped waste.

Hoads Wood is a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an area of outstanding natural beauty, which ought to be carpeted in bluebells at this time of year but instead huge swathes of the woodland is buried in waste tens of feet deep.
The petition follows an open letter written earlier this month to the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay by six organisations calling for support and funding to clear the site, which began seeing issues with waste being dumped there in 2020.
The Rescue Hoads Wood campaign group said community members would see as many as 20-30 trucks per day dumping waste at the woods at the height of the problem in July 2023.
A spokesman for Ashford Borough Council said to date it had been “unable to establish that the issues have crossed the threshold of a statutory nuisance” but that it continued to "liaise with the relevant agencies" including Natural England and the EA.

Hoads Wood: The Bluebell woodland turned 'desolate wasteland'

Campaigners say a petition calling for officials to clean-up the woods has hit 6,500 signatures.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

If that isn't a statutory nuisance, then the term is worthless and the legislation it underpins isn't worth having.

 

[Stemcor]

If it costs money to dump waste and an unscrupulous operator will always cut corners and not use the proper facilities. I once went to a public meeting on a very similar subject and a lorry driver admitted that he was doing this in the 1970’s . It’s a political football so sadly don’t expect changes any time soon.

 

[Rockmeister]

Unbelievable. I think that the removal is the responsibility of the landowner (it is here in Scotland) which is also stupid, giving farmers etc expense and work they really don't need. Legislate to make all dumped material the councils problem and up the fines to 25,000.
Then police and prosecute for a year.

 

[divedeepdog]

There’s no interest. I reported a substantial number bags full of asbestos, far more than a random individual clearing 1 garage to the council. It was off the road between lay-by and river so they passed me onto the environment agency. It was deemed not dangerous so has been left.
It’s covered by undergrowth now, but all still there breaking down into the river.

 

[Rockmeister]

It's the councils who charge for businesses to tip at local dumps who are exacerbating the problem. make it free! Encourage it! then the problem will only be those lazy assholes who just need a good asskick to understand that it's wrong.

 

[paulfromcamden]

It's shocking that it's been allowed to get to that state. This report states that a lorry full of rubbish turned up while a TV crew were there - with no plates!

The site is apparently for sale for £1.5m. Good luck to the seller...

Lorry with no number plates pictured at ‘wasteland’ woods

A lorry with no number plates was caught on camera this morning approaching a woodland which has been turned into a wasteland.

www.kentonline.co.uk