Operator of an Illegal waste site successfully prosecuted – nplaw acts for Norfolk County Council

nplaw’s Tamsin Eddison recently acted for Norfolk County Council on the prosecution of the operator of an illegal waste site in North Runcton. The massive site contained thousands of tonnes of wood, soil, construction and demolition waste and reached up to 15 metres in height.

Located in open countryside, the waste site was run without planning permission or an environmental permit to deposit, store, dispose and treat waste. Norfolk County Council served an enforcement notice in September 2010, which the operator Mark Fuller tried, unsuccessfully, to appeal. He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment at Norwich Crown Court. Commenting on the case for the County Council, Mike Adams said, “This is a case that has stretched the powers of planning enforcement to the limit. The defendant refused to engage with the planning system; appeals … were designed to frustrate the enforcement procedure and have lengthened and increased the cost of this process. The council is determined that this type of activity will not be allowed to continue in such a sensitive location.”