A Restriction Order is now in place prohibiting anyone from importing waste into land at Pyethornes Farm in Wigglesworth, near Skipton.
The order, granted at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on 4 February 2026, will remain in force for six months.
As part of the order, access to the premises is also prohibited, subject to certain limited exceptions.
The court action follows the EA serving a restriction notice on the site on 2 February 2026. Restriction notices can be imposed for up to 72 hours, during which time the Agency must apply to the court for a longer-term Restriction Order unless the notice is withdrawn.
Waste dumped at Yorkshire farm
The enforcement action relates to alleged illegal waste activity at Pyethornes Farm, where the EA said waste was being deposited without the required environmental permit.
A 50-year-old man has been charged with operating a regulated facility without an environmental permit and is due to appear at York Magistrates’ Court on 19 February.
Ian Foster, Area Environment Manager at the EA, commented: “We’ve taken action to prevent access to this site while criminal proceedings are ongoing.
“Illegal waste activity harms communities, damages the environment and undermines legitimate waste businesses.
“It ranges from visible offences such as fly-tipping and illegal waste sites to more complex activity including environmental permit breaches, money laundering, and organised crime.”
The Restriction Order allows the Agency to take steps to secure the land and requires the order to be prominently displayed at the site entrance. Anyone entering the site in breach of the order commits a separate criminal offence.
Environment Act Restriction Orders
Restriction Orders are granted under Section 109A of the Environment Act 1995, which gives the Environment Agency powers to prevent repeated illegal waste dumping where there is a risk of serious pollution to the environment or serious harm to human health.
The power was introduced in April 2018 following criticism of the Agency’s response to large-scale illegal dumping at the former Waste4Fuel site in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley.
This is the seventh time the EA has used its enforcement powers to issue a Restriction Order, most recently in connection with the Kidlington waste crime case.
Under the legislation, the Agency must make reasonable efforts to notify the owner and occupier of the land before applying for an order. However, provided those efforts have been made, the court can still grant an order even if the owner or occupier cannot be identified.
Courts are required to hear applications within 72 hours, enabling the EA to act quickly where serious risks are identified. Restriction Orders can be issued for a maximum of six months and allow the Agency to do “anything necessary” to prevent prohibited access.
