Brothers Yusuf Mohammed, 48, and Munir Mohammed, 58, both of Phoenix Sidings in Stockton-On-Tees, both pleaded guilty to two offences of operating an illegal scrap yard when they appeared at Teesside Crown Court on 18 September, the Agency said.
Explaining that the pair were directors of the now liquidated Jap Parts Ltd, a scrap vehicle site which became a fire risk, the Agency said that they continued to operate despite the demise of the company and the loss of its environmental permit, and also failed to engage with Environment Agency officers during a lengthy investigation.
Remediation order
They were both ordered to pay £1,591 in fines and costs, and given a remediation order to clear the site of all of the remaining scrap vehicles.
Gary Wallace, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said: The storage and dismantling of scrap vehicles is strictly regulated because of the pollution risks of hazardous liquid such as oil, fuel and break fluids, as well as batteries.
“Dismantling must be done using methods to reduce the risk to the environment, and the waste stored pending recovery or disposal. Operators must have an environmental permit to carry out these activities.”
This was a lengthy investigation by our officers
Non-compliant
“This was a lengthy investigation by our officers where the defendants were non compliant and I’m pleased there is now a court order in place to ensure the clearance of the site once and for all.”
Detailing the court hearing, the Agency said that the court heard that the brothers owned two areas of land next to each other at Stockton-On-Tees, at Britannia Road and Phoenix Sidings – near to the railway line, homes and businesses. Their company, Jap Parts Ltd had an environmental permit in place to run a scrap vehicle site on the Phoenix Sidings land.
“In July 2019, Environment Agency officers attended the site after receiving reports of illegal scrap vehicle storage. The Phoenix Sidings site was full with vehicles, while the Britannia Road site, for which there was no permit, also had about 40 scrap vehicles stored on it.
“Enquiries revealed that Jap Parts Ltd was in liquidation and had stopped trading in November 2014. The brothers had set up a new company, Jap Parts (North) Ltd, which did not have an environmental permit for activity on either site. Yusif Mohammed confirmed the new company started trading in December 2014, with the vehicle stock transferring to the new company.
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