Bellway Homes pays £100,000 after dumping contaminated soil on Northumberland site
A housing company has agreed to pay £100,000 to environmental charities after it dumped contaminated soil on one of its development sites.
Bellway Homes Limited left the soil containing wood, metal, wire cables, rubber, plastic and vehicle tyres on a site in Northumberland.
The Environment Agency said around 2,688 cubic metres of contaminated material was imported to St Mary's Park, near Stannington, between 22 November and 12 December 2017.
Bellway Homes has agreed to pay £50,000 to Northumberland Wildlife Trust, £30,000 to Wear Rivers Trust and £20,000 to Tyne Rivers Trust to charities to make amends for the offending.
The company said the material was taken to the site from another development at nearby Five Mile Park to build a soil bund around an artificial pond created to catch excess rainwater.
In February 2019 an Environment Agency officer attended the site after receiving a report of illegal waste activity.
An enforcement notice was subsequently issued meaning the waste had to be removed from the pond area. It was moved to another area of the site and then on to a permitted waste facility for disposal during July and August 2020.
Bellway Homes said its consultants had told them it was allowed to import the soil without any authorisation, which is not correct.
Andrew Turner, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “Despite being a large and experienced housebuilder Bellway claimed it followed the advice of a consultancy which said it was appropriate to import the contaminated soil.
“We know the waste material being left on site for such a long period of time caused distress to local residents and this has since been cleared.
“While we will always take forward prosecutions in the most serious cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements. It also supports the prevention of repeat incidents by companies improving their procedures to ensure future compliance with environmental requirements.”
A spokesperson for Bellway Homes said: "Bellway has agreed with the Environment Agency to make a voluntary donation of £100,000 to local environmental charities after a mistake was made with materials deposits on one of its sites a number of years ago.
"Bellway co-operated fully with the Environment Agency in its investigation into the incident and fully remediated the issue.
"Bellway has excellent environmental credentials and we are delighted to be able to work with local environmental charities in this way."
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