Responding to parliamentary questions from Calum Miller MP, Creagh said preparatory works at the site would “begin shortly”, with full clearance of the estimated 20,000 tonnes of waste anticipated to take between six and nine months.
The Environment Agency (EA) authorised the clearance of the site in December 2025, citing the risk posed by combustible and decomposing waste as a exceptional reason the EA had to step in.
MP raises concerns over delays and river risk
Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, welcomed the confirmation that clearance would begin but questioned why progress appeared slow despite an EA press release on 11 December 2025 stating that “preparatory works for clearance will begin imminently”.
Miller told Parliament he believed those works had yet to start and warned that the underlying risks at the site remained.
Miller commented: “Yet the factor that led the EA to authorise the clearance of the site, the risk of fire from combustible and decomposing waste, remains.”
Miller also raised concerns about the proximity of the waste to the River Cherwell, asking what measures had been taken to prevent contamination should water levels rise, and what contingency plans were in place if pollution were to occur.
He added: “In this case, it is clear that the EA prioritised investigating the crime over protecting the site by containing the waste on it.”
‘Prep work will begin shortly’
Responding on behalf of the government, Mary Creagh said she shared the anger of both the MP and the public over the incident.
Creagh stressed that the scale of the fire risk at Kidlington set the case apart from most other illegal waste dumps, noting that in the past five years the EA had only directly cleared two other sites: Hoad’s Wood and Twyford House in Stoke-on-Trent.
Creagh confirmed: “The EA will continue to closely monitor the site whilst preparatory work takes place.
“They have informed me today that prep work will begin shortly, and clearance of the waste is expected to start in February.”
She also provided an update on the criminal investigation, confirming that EA officers, working with police, had taken forensic samples from the site. The results from the samples are expected to be released at the end of January 2026.
While reiterating that polluters should pay for clean-ups wherever possible, Creagh said the government would continue to intervene in exceptional cases and was pursuing broader reforms to prevent future incidents, including the introduction of digital waste tracking, which is expected in October 2026.
Kidlington waste site
EA officers first attended the Kidlington site on 2 July 2025 following reports of illegal tipping on land between the River Cherwell and the A34.
The landowner was issued with a cease-and-desist letter, but inspections later revealed waste was still being deposited.
A court order shutting down operations was granted on 23 October 2025, after which the EA confirmed no further tipping had taken place.
By that point, a vast mound of mixed waste had accumulated across the floodplain, stretching approximately 150 metres and reaching up to six metres in height.
The pile contains plastics, wood, foam and other materials and is estimated to weigh hundreds of tonnes.
Concerns over fire risk and environmental harm ultimately led the EA to authorise clearance of the site in December 2025.
Subscribe for free