EA clamps down on illegal ELV sites in North West

The Environment Agency has clamped down on illegal end-of-life vehicle (ELV) sites in the North West by successfully bringing prosecutions against three operators of waste sites in the region over the past three weeks.

The Agency has successfully brought cases against three firms operating in the North West of England, with the defendants being ordered to pay out nearly £25,000 in combined costs and fines.

In the wake of the prosecutions, the Agency stressed the need for licensed operators to clean-up vehicles when they reach their end-of-life, removing harmful substances and disposing of them properly. The regulator warned that failure to do so can carry a maximum penalty of a £20,000 fine or six months in prison.

Among the three prosecutions secured by the Agency, the largest fine was handed to Accrington-based VW Warehouse, which was fined £20,000 following an Agency investigation that found ELVs being dismantled on the company's site without the necessary environmental permitting in place.

The Agency had received complaints from members of the public about the site before officers visited VW Warehouse and found vehicles at various stages of disrepair. Further visits to the site found 80 ELVs piled two or three high, with some also being stored on an adjacent site without the required permit.

The company, which appeared in Accrington Magistrates' Court on July 21, was also ordered to pay £2,755.60 in costs. VW Warehouse was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Prosecutions

In addition, the Agency also secured a prosecution against Mr Amjid Ali of Royton BMW in Royton, Greater Manchester, at Oldham Magistrates' Court on July 26.

Mr Ali purchased Royton BMW in December 2008, which included him inheriting a yard with the business which contained a number of ELVs. Mr Ali said, having not run a business of this sort before, he was not aware it was an offence to keep the vehicles without a permit.

EA officers advised him to apply for a permit or clear the site of ELVs, with Mr Ali stating in November 2009 that he was in the process of clearing the site and would completely remove the material in one month. However, an inspection in May 2010 confirmed waste still present at the site.

Mr Ali was made the subject of a six month supervision order, ordered to undertake 80 hours unpaid community work and to pay costs of £1,000. Mr Ali was approached by letsrecycle.com but was unavailable to comment.

The Agency also successfully brought prosecutions against Winston Brown and Ian Kershaw, who were both ordered to pay £100 fines by Manchester Magistrates' Court for each running an illegal car breakers yards, which failed to have the proper licence in place.

Commenting on the cases, Steve Townhill, environmental crime team leader at the Agency, said: “We don't know exactly how much environmental damage is being caused by illegal operators, due to the very fact they are illegal.

“We need to raise awareness that serious damage can be caused to the environment from these sites. It is hoped that we can work to reduce the supply of vehicles to illegal operations, and stop any damage before it occurs.”