Essex landowner jailed for waste sentence breach

Roger Frederick Phipps, 72, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work in January 2013 for allowing an illegal waste site to be run on Michelins Farm in Raleigh (see letsrecycle.com story).

Phipps, whose prison sentence was suspended for two years, was also fined 15,000 for breaching two planning enforcement notices in last years ruling.

At the previous hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, Judge David Turner QC had ruled that despite Phipps age and limited income, the reasonably significant value of the site meant that by selling his assets he would be able to raise the money needed to pay the fines and costs.

Since then, the Court heard, Phipps has carried out the unpaid work but has yet to pay the court costs and fines. He also failed to remove the majority of waste from the farm by the court set deadline of June 30 2014.

Part activation of the suspended sentence comes more than 18 months after the Court found Michelins Farm had operated without a waste permit or planning permission, and it was run without an environmental permit from April 2008 to 2011.

At the 2013 hearing Mark Watson, prosecuting, said that between December 2009 and June 2010 Essex County Fire Service was called out to attend 35 fires at the site.

Plastics, tyres, building materials and cylinders were all seen in the fires, which occurred mostly at night when thick black smoke was seen coming from the land.

Surveillance

Environment Agency officers carried out covert surveillance in May 2010 and saw lorries taking waste into the site and at the same time saw smoke regularly coming from the farm.

Officers also went to the farm with police in June that year following a large fire with a plume of black smoke that could be seen from the A127. Phipps was arrested and questioned on June 3 2010 and further interviewed on July 19 2010, but offered no comment to questions.

Mr Watson added that waste was still being stored and burned at the farm six months later, despite several letters from the council warning Phipps to comply with the enforcement notices.

In mitigation, Mr Len Kazakos accepted that his client had developed an entrenched view towards the authorities, but Judge Turner said Phipps had been given every opportunity to comply with the law.

At the time, Environment Agency officer Kelly Short said: Phipps knew he needed a permit to run the site but ignored our advice for years. We continue to work closely with Rochford District Council to stop this site operating illegally.