According to a statement from the Environment Agency, published yesterday (January 09), the director of Red Jon Ltd,Patrick Cassidy, held 1,790 tonnes of wood at the site in Pyrton whereas no more than 500 tonnes can be kept in one place in any seven day period.
The statement explained that on Wednesday 8 January, district judge Kamlesh Rana fined Red Jon Ltd, formerly of Shirburn Road, Pyrton, £15,000, and Mr Cassidy £860. The two were ordered to equally share costs of £28,000, Cassidy also paying a victim surcharge of £86.
The Agency added that Oxford magistrates’ court heard the mountains of wood posed a “significant fire-risk to the area”, which included two schools, residential property and a park.
Julia Leigh, senior environmental crime officer for the Environment Agency in Oxfordshire, said:
“I visited the site on numerous occasions, explaining which activities were and weren’t allowed, but Red Jon was not able to make sufficient changes to comply with the law and reduce the risk to the environment and the local community.
“Waste crime can undermine legitimate businesses. The Environment Agency works closely with businesses to help them comply with the law. In cases like this, where individuals consistently operate illegally, we have no hesitation in prosecuting them, as we want to make sure waste crime doesn’t pay.”
Cassidy, 68, is now banned from being a company director.
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