Mr. Robert Cooper, 78, of Hicks Leaze Farm, Chelworth appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court on Monday 5th June 2017 for operating a regulated waste facility without the necessary environmental permit (contrary to regulations 12 (1)(a) and 38 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010) at the Farm between 9th April 2014 and 10th July 2014.

The defendant had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on 15th May but the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report due to the facts of the case and his previous waste offences.

Mr. Cooper was given a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for 2 years and ordered to perform 200 hours of unpaid work. The court also ordered Mr Cooper to pay the Environment Agency’s full costs of £13027.35

All waste activities are regulated by the Environment Agency. Whenever waste is stored or treated, the operator is required to hold an environmental permit or register for an exemption – which is reserved for low-risk waste activities only.

Checks with the Agency’s public register confirmed that he did not have a permit for the site, and although he did have 6 waste exemptions none of these would have allowed him to carry out the types of activities seen by officers.

Our Quote:

“The net is closing in on people who think they can make easy money undercutting legitimate waste businesses by putting the local environment at risk. We are constantly gathering information on illegal waste sites, criminal activities and environmental crime in Wiltshire and across the south east.

“We are taking a zero tolerance approach against offenders. In cases like this where individuals consistently operate illegally, we have absolutely no hesitation in prosecuting them as we want to make sure that waste crime doesn’t pay.”

“This extends to landowners and their agents who fail to take steps to prevent such offences once they are made aware of them.”