Startling aerial images have revealed how 59,000 tonnes of household waste has been illegally tipped in woodland close to a charming village, sparking a criminal investigation. The Environment Agency (EA) has initiated a significant inquiry into the latest large-scale waste site, which was uncovered in Ranskill, Nottinghamshire.
Drone footage demonstrates the enormous extent of the appalling site, which exceeds the size of a football pitch and encircles a lake adjacent to two nature reserves. Nottinghamshire County Council has now issued a Stop Notice and Planning Enforcement notice to halt any additional waste from being deposited.
The EA confirmed that a criminal investigation has commenced into the dumped refuse, which they recognized has become a major and growing problem throughout the nation. Numerous residents said they were oblivious to the site being dumped near their idyllic civil parish due to the measures the fly-tippers had taken to hide the illegal tip.
One resident, who would only provide her name as Mary, 64, commented: "We didn't have any idea it was there until now. They have gone to great lengths to remain undetected, and it's out of the way of the village somewhat. I think it's absolutely disgusting. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of lorry loads of the stuff dumped up there. You just hope whoever is behind it is held to account, as it seems to be happening all over the place and it's destroying the environment."
Chair of Ranskill Council, Dan Simpson, said: "We had been alerted to some suspicious activity going on up there for some time. We thought something untoward had been going on for 12 months but only recently do we now know why. We noticed unmarked lorries going up and down an access road which had been created out of nowhere really. They even filled in potholes on some of the other roads to make life easier for themselves. But because there are some legitimate businesses near there, we thought it could be down to them. We just weren't aware of the true scale of the site and what they had been doing there. We've had councillors and members of the public abused, so we hadn't been able to get too near the site. The areas around it include well-used nature reserves and lakes, but the site is more off the beaten track. Not many people were aware it was even there. There's been no smell, but that might change as the weather warms up. Those responsible have not been caught to the best of my knowledge, and we just hope the Environment Agency investigation can find those behind it."
An Environment Agency spokesperson commented: "The challenge posed by waste crime has grown, and we are working hard to tackle this blight on our environment. Working with the County council, we have stopped any further dumping at this site. A criminal investigation is now ongoing, and we will do everything in our power to find those responsible and bring them to justice. Anyone who spots suspicious activity should call our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60."
According to Sky News, there are currently eight active sites nationwide exceeding 20,000 tonnes. In March, the EA introduced its new ten-point plan aimed at tackling the organized criminals operating these waste sites. They stated that by building upon existing partnerships, they have launched a focused, sustained program of action to strengthen prevention, improve detection, and deliver more consistent enforcement.
Councillor Darrell Pulk, cabinet member for neighborhoods at Bassetlaw District Council, commented: "Fly-tipping on this scale is an increasing issue nationally and usually carried out by organized criminal gangs who do not want to pay the costs of disposing of waste in a responsible and legal way. Sadly, Bassetlaw is not immune to this, and as well as being extremely harmful to the environment, the cost of removal and remediation ultimately falls on councils and partner organizations like the Environment Agency to pick up the bill of disposing of the waste. This reduces the money that we could be spending on things that more positively benefit residents and businesses in our area. We'd like to remind everyone to think twice about who you ask to take away your waste and always ask for a waste carrier's license."
