A company director has been ordered to clear an illegal waste site in Sheffield and pay more than £20,000 in fines and costs.
Austin Fitzgerald, 65, director of Concept Investments Limited in Sheffield, must clear an illegal waste site on land owned by his company by 18 May.
Both the company and Fitzgerald pleaded guilty at South Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court and were ordered to pay over £20,000 in fines and costs. Fitzgerald was also sentenced to a 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work.
The Environment Agency first visited the site in July 2022 and found a large amount of mixed waste, including fridges and other electrical items, as well as inert waste such as soil and stones.
In a follow-up visit later in the year, the Environment Agency told the occupier he could not store waste without a permit and gave him six weeks to clear it.
In January 2023, officers inspected the site and found none of the waste had been cleared, and in fact, new waste had accumulated.
The Agency subsequently served a formal notice requiring the site to be cleared by 5 June 2023, which was not complied with.
In late 2024 and early 2025, the Agency received complaints about waste burning, and the operator was advised by Sheffield City Council to cease the activity, which was impacting local residents.
Another man charged in relation to the same site has pleaded not guilty to operating a regulated facility without an environmental permit, with a trial set to begin on 11 February 2027.
Commenting on the sentencing, Ben Hocking, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said: “It’s clear that Fitzgerald and the company were well aware of what was happening on that land, and they repeatedly ignored our requests to stop operations and clear the waste.”
“Waste criminals damage our communities, and we are cracking down across the sector on those flouting the regulations.”
“This should serve as a warning for landowners that if you allow illegal waste activity to take place on your land, we will take action.”
The company was fined £8,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £5,442, while Fitzgerald was ordered to pay costs of £5442 and a victim surcharge of £114.
