THE prospect of Swindon taxpayers being left to pick up the £2m bill for clearing the former Swindon Skips site is close to becoming a reality.

However, efforts are being made by the council to obtain its own licence and officers are looking at various ways of reducing the cost, including using the neighbouring Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Since December, piles of waste have been left on the land at the end of Brindley Close after the Environment Agency issued an order to Swindon Skips to move it.

A deadline of March 4 was set but, as the company has now gone into liquidation, the notice no longer applies.

Therefore, once the liquidation process is completed, the council, as landowner, will take on responsibility for clearing the site up, at an estimated cost of £2m.

No attempt has yet been made to shift the 11,000 tonnes of rubbish which still remains and the perimeter fencing is no longer secure.

Notices attached to the entrance from Scottish and Southern Electric suggest no one has been there for some time.

The rubbish technically belongs to the liquidator but once the company is formally wound up it will passto the council.

The EA has said there are concerns for the safety of the site and discussions are being held to try and secure it.

Swindon Skips was owned by Lee Averies, who also owns Averies Recycling, based at Marshgate, which was the site of a huge fire last summer.

That company has been told it has until April 15 to clear any waste.

A spokesman for the EA said: “Recently, we have received notification by the liquidator of Swindon Skips Ltd that they have disclaimed the environmental permit at Brindley Close.

“This means the revocation notice for Brindley Close is of no effect. We are in liaison with the liquidator as to what can be done to mitigate risks posed by their waste which is stored at the site.

“The revocation notice is in force at the Marshgate site with a deadline for the waste to be cleared of April 15.

“We can’t comment any further at this stage because of our investigations.

“If the operators fail to remove waste the responsibility will fall to the landowner. For Brindley Close this is Swindon Borough Council.”

Swindon Council has to find £17m worth of savings in the next financial year as it stands so can ill-afford to pick up a £2m bill, the equivalent of a 2.5 per cent increase in council tax, so solutions are being closely examined.

A council spokesman said: “We are currently exploring options to obtain a permit to operate the site and have been working closely with the Environment Agency to come up with the best and most cost effective way of clearing it.

“One of these options includes disposing of the waste using our Solid Recovered Fuel facility at our adjacent Household Waste Recycling Centre which would reduce the cost of clearing the waste considerably and enable this to be done over time.”