Sam Dowell, 30, had been given a contract to assist with the readying of a piece of land for the groundworks of a housing development in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire. His workers undertook the work while he chose a location next to the Royston Sewage Treatment Works in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, for depositing the waste soil. Dowell leased lorries from PJC Sweepers Ltd to transport the waste soil.
However, this site is owned by AWG Land Holdings Ltd, part of the Anglian Water Group. Anglian Water Group includes Anglian Water Services Ltd and did not hold an environmental permit to accept waste. PJC Sweepers Ltd should have completed duty of care checks to confirm the waste soil was being transported to a suitably licensed waste site.
Mr Dowell received a fine of £1,840 at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court last year for causing the movement and depositing of waste soil without the required permits. He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was also ordered to pay £2,000 compensation. He also had to pay a third of the cost of clearing the illegally dumped soil, plus costs of £1,900.
Patrick Coleman, 75, of Galsworthy Road, Barnet, North London, is the sole director of haulage company PJC Sweepers Ltd, which leased the trucks to Dowell. Mr Coleman was acquitted at Cambridgeshire Crown Court on 1 June 2022 of moving waste without a permit. However, his company was fined £6,000 plus costs of £10,000, a further £4,000 compensation for the remediation of the site. He was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge at the same court on 4 July 2022.