Bromley borough council is seeking a county court injunction to stop waste being stored by Kent RDF firm Waste4Fuel beyond the boundary of its Orpington waste transfer site.
The council claims waste is being dumped illegally at more than a metre in height on Green Belt land around the Cornwall Drive site without planning permission and it is concerned that continued harmful expansion could take place.
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According to a report to councils planning sub-committee last week (April 3), aerial photographs suggest the Southern boundary of the Cornwall Drive site has been breached and the tipping of waste and associated activities are now occurring approximately 20 metres beyond the area identified within the certificates of lawfulness.
But the new operators of Waste4Fuel said that the material is not waste but in fact soil and fines, which is being used to make the waterlogged area more accessible to comply with demands from the London Fire Brigade (LFB).
The company currently faces fines and costs totalling almost 9,000 after a prosecution in February brought by the LFB, which was called to fires at the Orpington site 12 times in a year (see letsrecycle.com story).
Waste4Fuel has been under new ownership since February 1 2014 and the company said it had no intention of expanding its boundary, but was merely working to improve fire safety and remove waste left at the site by the previous owners.
A spokesman for the company told letsrecycle.com: When we took over the South side of the site it was a field where a lot of the fires had taken place. The actual ground was a complete bog because of fire officers tackling fires there, and the fire brigade asked us to clear that. It is not waste it is topsoil to soak up all the water.
‘When we took over the South side of the site it was a field where a lot of the fires had taken place. The actual ground was a complete bog because of fire officers tackling fires there, and the fire brigade asked us to clear that. It is not waste it is topsoil to soak up all the water.’
Waste4Fuel spokesman
He said that fire services had now not been called to the site since February 24 which was saving taxpayers money and that the LFB was pleased with the companys progress.
He added: We will work with the council and as I said it is on a temporary basis we are confident that we will be back inside the boundaries within six weeks.
Injunction
However, if the councils injunction application is successful, councillors said action would be taken to remove the waste and restore the land to its original appearance as they would not tolerate dumping.
The report states: The current operators of the waste transfer station have suggested verbally that this expansion was due to requirements from other statutory bodies, however any operational requirement for this expansion has been created by the behaviour of the site operator in bringing excessive amounts of waste on to the site.
Bromley councillor Alexa Michael, chairman of planning sub-committee, said: We are committed to protecting important Green Belt land from illegal fly tipping and will take legal action against those that that commit these offences. The Environment Agency is the licencing authority for the waste transfer site itself and while there have been ongoing issues here, we are determined to halt further unauthorised expansion on to adjoining land, restoring it to its original appearance at the cost of the land owner and will not tolerate dumping.
‘we are determined to halt further unauthorised expansion on to adjoining land, restoring it to its original appearance at the cost of the land owner and will not tolerate dumping’
Bromley councillor Alexa Michael
Environment Agency
Bromley councils decision to pursue an injunction comes while Waste4Fuel is also currently facing court action from the Environment Agency to remove bales of waste that have been left at the site for more than a year (see letsrecycle.com story).
The company has a deadline to clear the site of May 1 2014, with a High Court hearing last month (March 28) adjourned by the Judge for 28 days. A two-day trial is now set to take place towards the end of April.
Waste4Fuel
Waste4Fuel which under previous director Bryan Hughes collected and sorted waste for processing into a refuse derived fuel (RDF) originally had its environmental permit suspended on April 22 2013 due to thousands of tonnes waste being illegally stored and a number of fires at the site.
Waste4Fuel director Shelley Hurst, who acquired the firm from Mr Hughes on February 1 2014, previously said she had made real headway in processing and removing the RDF and that there was a long term plan for the company to move into energy-from-waste with thermal treatment at the site (see letsrecycle.com story).
Waste4Fuel has told letsrecycle.com that it hopes to clear the site within 12-16 weeks.
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