The Prime Minister has promised that ‘the days of making easy money from waste are over’ as four men are arrested over an illegal waste site on land owned by the King.
The four men were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale, illegal dumping of waste at the notorious Bolton House Road waste site in Wigan.
Commenting on the arrests, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “This is not fly-tipping. This is organised crime, and it is local communities that are paying the price.”
“I have stood on Bolton House Road and seen what local people have had to live with. It is shocking – an ocean of rubbish piled up next to a primary school, and families unable to escape the smell in their own homes.”
Burnham continued that the issue of organised waste crime has been ‘ignored’ for too long and promised that ‘the days of making easy money from waste are over’.
Last summer, a fire at the waste site lasted for a week and caused nearby schools to shut. Local residents have also reported pungent smells coming from the site.
A recent investigation by Sky News found toxic chemicals were present at the Wigan site that have not been approved for use in the UK for decades as they pose a danger to human and animal life.
Four arrests environmental, fraud and money laundering offences
Officers from Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire Police, working in support of the Environment Agency, arrested the four suspects for environmental, fraud and money laundering offences.
They are a 41-year-old male from Wigan, a 35-year-old male from Wigan, a 59-year-old male from Liverpool, and a 24-year-old male from Leeds who was also arrested in connection with waste dumping at a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Leicestershire.
At the SSSI, known as Cave’s Inn Pits, waste criminals dumped 30,000 tonnes of shredded waste in layers with soil used to cover it.
In May, a 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.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the dumping of waste at Bolton House Road and Cave’s Inn Pits represents a ‘blatant disregard’ for local communities and the environment.
“Tackling waste crime is one of my top priorities, and these arrests mark an important step in delivering justice for residents in Wigan and Shawell,” Eagle said.
“This government is taking a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime. I want to be clear to waste criminals: we are coming for you.”
The 25-tonne illegal waste dump in on Bolton House Road, 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.
Speaking in March when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham condemned the Duchy of Lancaster and said their response to the illegal waste dump in Wigan was ‘not acceptable’.
Josh Simons, who was the area’s local MP before he stood down so Burnham could run to replace him, previously called for the Duchy to pay for its share of the clean-up costs.