GovWire

Martin Booker, 60, of Woodside in Brotton, operated an illegal waste site on unregistered land, burnt it and ignored warnings from the Environment Agency to stop.

He appeared at Teesside Magistrates Court last month for sentencing and having previously denied the allegations, changed his plea to guilty to three offences of operating a waste site without an environmental permit.

The court heard the land, which is at the end of Gladstone Street in Brotton, is next to council-owned allotments and does not have an environmental permit or a registered exemption, which are required by law to manage waste operations.

Booker was fined 648 and will pay a victim surcharge of 259. A remediation order was made against Brooker for him to clear the site of all waste. If he fails to comply he could be subject to further action.

Booker largely ignored warnings

Gary Wallace, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said:

Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and environment and we told Booker a number of times that he must stop his activities and clear the waste from the site.

He largely ignored these warnings, showing a disregard for law.

Illegal activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the environment at risk and impacting on the local community.

In February 2022 an Environment Agency officer visited the land and saw waste including scrap electricals such as fridges and washing machines, as well as shopping trollies and scrap vehicle parts. There were clear signs of burning.

Enquiries led the officers to Booker, and a letter was sent instructing him to cease all activity and clear the site.

By May 2022 most of the waste had been cleared, but Boooker resumed waste activity on the land. By October the same year waste was again strewn across the site and the pathway access to the allotments including a pram, a three piece suite and a TV.

In January 2023 the Environment Agency gave Booker one month to clear the site, but a month later it was still full of waste - again with evidence of burning.

When he was interviewed in May 2023 Booker said hed owned two garages on the land that he knocked down.

He said hed brought rubble to the land to develop it, but that people fly tipped the plot and he cleared it by putting it into residents bins or throwing it in the allotments.

He denied being responsible for disposing and burning waste. He also claimed not to have a vehicle but evidence from the council confirmed he was seen in a scrap van in Saltburn in October 2023.

A final visit on 19 March 2024 saw the site still had waste present, with evidence of burning.

Law is there to protect communities

Cllr Adam Brook, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said:

Our officers work closely with colleagues in the Environment Agency and other partner agencies every day to protect the public.

The decision to go to court is never taken lightly. However, if the law which is clearly there to protect our residents, visitors, businesses and the environment we all share is disregarded in this way this action must be taken and I fully support the EA.

I would like to thank the Environment Agency and everyone else involved for their hard work on this case.