Government encouraged to give order to clean up ‘obscene’ illegal rubbish dump

The Government has been urged to issue an order to the Environment Agency to urgently clear up an “obscene” 12-metre high waste dump near the River Cherwell that is threatening to pollute the river and wider area.

Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) said the fly tip in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, had reached about 150 metres long, and 10 metres wide.

Mr Miller said recent heavy rainfall brought by Storm Claudia at the weekend had made the situation more urgent, and meant the rubbish was slowly floating towards the river which eventually flows through Oxford and feeds the Thames.

He said criminal gangs were behind the issue, and they could earn “millions of pounds without a thought for the health of people or animals, or the damage to soil, water or air”.

The MP called for the Government to issue a directive similar to that for Hoades Wood near Ashford, Kent, in 2024 which told the Environment Agency to clear up the site.

The body has got a restriction order passed to stop access to the site to prevent further dumping and it is also monitoring the River Cherwell for signs of pollution.

Mr Miller told MPs the dump was “obscene”.

Speaking in the Commons, he said: “I’m deeply concerned that the Environment Agency is not equipped to deal with this unfolding environmental disaster.”

He added: “Most urgently for my constituents, will ministers follow the example of the previous secretary of state who on May 22 2024, issued a directive to the Environment Agency to clean up the illegal wood at Hoades Wood in Kent, and will they issue a similar urgent directive for the clearance of the dump in my constituency before it’s too late for the River Cherwell.”

He had previously told Parliament that the estimated clean up cost by Cherwell District Council would exceed its entire yearly budget.

Meanwhile Labour MP Chris Hinchliffe (North East Hertfordshire) said organised criminal gangs were “enemies of the countryside… who are the clear and present danger to our nation”.

Environment minister Emma Hardy said she was limited in what she could tell Mr Miller because a criminal investigation was under way.

Ms Hardy said: “The Government is aware of the appalling case of illegal dumping in the honourable member’s constituency, and I absolutely share his constituents’ anger as I too have seen the photographs and videos and it is no wonder that he feels moved to bring this urgent question today.”

She added: “I can reassure him that the Environment Agency are working very, very closely with local partners.”

Shadow environment secretary Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) said he had seen similar cases in his constituency.

Dr Hudson said: “(Mr Miller) is right to raise the shocking illegal waste dump in his constituency which has waste stacked over 10 metres high, and the effects that will unfold on the environment, ecology and wildlife are positively frightening.

“The Labour Government’s action so far on dumping and fly tipping has been somewhat lacklustre, despite the fact that 36 of the 50 local authorities with the highest fly tipping rates, a staggering 72% are Labour controlled.”

Ms Hardy replied: “It is this Government that increased funding by 50% for waste enforcement by the Environment Agency, after it had been frozen for years under the previous government.”

She also said the Government was reforming regulations around rubbish disposal, and changing the rules around waste tracking.

Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokeswoman Sarah Dyke said the Government needed to ensure those responsible for dumping are prosecuted: “The Environment Agency needs the resources to both investigate the criminal activity leading to the waste dumping and prevent environmental damage and toxic run-off. Not just one, or the other.

“Waste crime is significantly under reported, criminal activity is widespread, with little chance of being prosecuted.”

Ms Hardy replied: “The Environment Agency has been able to increase its frontline criminal enforcement resource in the joint-unit for waste crime area and environmental crime teams.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “This is a sickening case of large-scale illegal waste dumping and we share the public’s disgust.

“After the Environment Agency was made aware of the incident, we took immediate action – issuing a cease and desist order in July.

“When the risk of further dumping emerged we subsequently secured a court order to close the site to prevent more waste from being illegally tipped.

“We have launched a major investigation and are working closely with the police and other partners to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

“Our specialist officers remain on the ground to support the investigation, and monitor the site to protect people and the environment from harm.”