A man from Birmingham has been arrested in connection with an illegal waste site on the land owned by the King’s Estate.
The 58-year-old man was arrested for environmental, fraud and money laundering offences related to multiple illegal dumps across England, not only the site in Wigan, partly owned by the King.
Ian Crewe, Area Director for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire at the Environment Agency, said the arrest was a vital step in collecting new evidence.
The 25-tonne illegal waste dump on Bolton House Road in Bickershaw, Wigan, is spread across land owned by Wigan Council and the Duchy of Lancaster, the King’s private estate.
Under environmental regulations, landowners are typically responsible for clearing waste that has been illegally dumped on their site.
However, the Duchy, which inherited the land due to an ancient law, said it is exempt from regulatory obligations as the estate did not inherit any liabilities attached to the property.
As part of its Waste Crime Action Plan, the government has committed to funding the clean-up of the site, along with two other dumps in Sheffield and Lancashire, at the taxpayer’s expense.
Environment Agency Chief Executive Phillip Duffy told a House of Lords committee that the government has committed £65 million towards the clearance operations.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said officials had recently met with local residents to discuss the clean-up plans and carry out further assessments.
The government is currently working to appoint contractors to carry out the waste clearance operation.
