New drone footage released by Channel 4 shows renewed activity at a 25,000 tonne illegal waste site on land owned by King Charles.
Drone footage shows two diggers moving waste on the site despite the Environment Agency saying it is subject to a major criminal investigation.
It is currently a criminal offence for any unauthorised person to enter the site on Bolton House Road, as it is subject to a closure order secured by Wigan Council.
An Environment Agency spokesperson told Circular Online: “We have taken robust action at this site, including launching a major criminal investigation and interviewing individuals under caution, as well as serving notice on landowners and occupiers to remove the waste on their land.”
“A series of interventions have already been made to ensure there has been no additional waste dumped illegally. As this is an active criminal investigation, we are unable to comment on specifics of the site.”
The large-scale waste site in Bickershaw, Wigan, covers land partially owned by Wigan Council and the King’s private estate, which inherited the lot due to an ancient law.
The site is currently subject to a land dispute as the waste is spread across land owned by the Duchy of Lancaster and Wigan Council.
Under environmental regulations, landowners are typically responsible for clearing waste that has been illegally dumped on their site.
However, the Duchy said it is exempt from regulatory obligations as the estate did not inherit any liabilities attached to the property.
A spokesperson for Wigan Council said they believe that those responsible for dumping the waste should clean up the 25,000 tonne waste dump, and failing that, the landowners.
The spokesperson said: “The illegal waste site at Bolton House Road has had, and continues to have, a daily impact on residents who live nearby and on the bordering primary school.”
“We continue to implore all landowners to take the necessary steps to fulfil their own obligations, and we call on the government to make funding available – via the Environment Agency or other department – to help remove the waste, as has been done for other sites.”
The Leader of the Council, Cllr David Molyneux MBE, has written to the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency to ask why funding was made available to clear a high-profile waste site in Oxfordshire, but not for the site on Bolton House Road.
Chair of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, Baroness Sheehan, said she was ‘astounded’ the Environment Agency had not committed to clearing the Bolton House Road site.
The MP for Makerfield, Josh Simons, has called on the King’s estate to pay for its share of the clean-up costs and a petition calling on the King to fund the clearance of the waste site has reached almost 20,000 signatures.
Simons also criticised the Environment Agency for failing to clear the waste after a fire at the site forced nearby businesses and schools to close, and went on to burn for ten days.
The Duchy of Lancaster has offered to transfer the land to Wigan Council; however, the local authority says it is unlikely the value of the land would surpass the clean-up cost.
