Telford site that went up in flames 'had 10 swimming pools worth of rubbish'

The organisation this week successfully prosecuted two men who were directors of the Greenway Waste Recycling site at Rock Road in Ketley up until their business went bust in January 2017.

Brothers Jonathan and Mark Nicholson from Armagh, Northern Ireland, were given suspended prison sentences after admitting breaching their environmental permit and storing more than 26,000 cubic metres of waste illegally.

The site was at the centre of one of the county's biggest fires in April last year – although a Recorder presiding over the Nicholsons' case stressed the blaze was "nothing to do with" the brothers.

The site has yet to be cleared and the Environment Agency (EA) has now confirmed its investigation into the fire is continuing.

Another firm was given permission by the EA in 2018 to process pulverised fuel ash into products at the site.

Planning permission for the site was refused by Telford & Wrekin Council but was then granted by a planning inspector on appeal.

Despite being allowed Johnson’s Aggregates & Recycling Limited, which was awarded the permit, has not sought to begin operations.

In a statement the EA said the Nicholson brothers had left enough waste at the site to fill 10 Olympic-size swimming pools.

It also said it had "highlighted the fire risk posed" at the site.

It said: "The waste included plastics, wood, metal, paper, and cardboard. It is referred to as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), as its intended use was burning as a fuel to produce electricity.

"In all, officers from the Environment Agency estimated the waste dumped amounted to more than 26,000 cubic metres or roughly the equivalent of 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"Following the eviction of the company run by the brothers, efforts were made to secure the removal of the abandoned waste by them. Only one load, comprising 26 bales of waste was removed.

"Throughout the time the waste was being stockpiled on the site in breach of the permit, Environment Agency officers inspecting the site highlighted the fire risk posed by the waste."

The fire started in April and was tackled by Shropshire firefighters for a month.

At one point it closed the M54, and also led to Telford residents being told to keep windows closed over concerns about the impact of smoke from the blaze.

Both brothers were sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

They were also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and were disqualified from being a company director for three years.

They will also have to pay a combined £23,000 in costs.

David Hudson, Environment Manager for the West Midlands Area of the Environment Agency, said: “Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact. It puts communities at risk and undermines legitimate business and the investment and economic growth that go with it.

“We support legitimate businesses and we are proactively supporting them by disrupting and stopping the criminal element. This is backed up by the threat of tough enforcement as in this case.

“We continue to use intelligence-led approaches to target the most serious crimes and evaluate which interventions are most effective.

“If you see or suspect waste crime is being committed we urge you to report it immediately to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”