Last Wednesday, Knowsley Council Leader, Cllr Graham Morgan, put forward a ‘notice of motion’ at the Council meeting, calling on the Environment Agency to be given more powers to deal with large scale environmental crime, such as the illegal waste site recently discovered in the borough.
On Friday, the Government announced that they would be bringing forward a new Waste Crime Action Plan, which would include expanding the enforcement action of the Environment Agency. The Government also said it would now “directly fund the clean-up of some of the worst illegal waste sites in the country” – naming Wigan, Sheffield and Lancashire as the first to benefit from this support.
In response, Leader of Knowsley Council, Cllr Graham Morgan, said: “I’ve been calling for more powers for the Environment Agency for some time, so I really welcome anything which gives them more ‘teeth’ to take action when serious environmental crimes occur.
“In Knowsley, we have been frustrated over several years about a lack of action to tackle persistent issues at the Simonswood and Williams Brothers Industrial Estates, which is outside of Knowsley but which negatively impacts the daily lives of people in Kirkby. Businesses on this estate have amassed huge piles of waste which they are not legally permitted to have, and this has caused misery for people nearby living with foul odours, dust and wondering what they are breathing in. So far, those agencies with the power to take action have been slow to do so – our residents are having to live with that.
“We have been making a lot of noise about this issue, supported by our Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley – and we know we are being heard. Just this week, the Environment Agency held a day of action at the Simonswood and Williams Brothers Estates, checking the compliance status of businesses, and I hope to see some robust actions coming out of that exercise soon. But clearly, much more still needs to be done.
“We now also have the impact of an enormous illegal waste dumping site which has been recently discovered within Knowsley’s boundaries – this is on private land and the Council has no powers to clear it, nor funds to do so – but again, this is something our residents have to live with… and the impacts on our local environment are not yet understood.
“These are just two examples where illegal activity is taking place and yet the process of prosecuting those responsible and cleaning up the waste is long and complex, and creates a feeling that those responsible are not feeling the full severity of the law.
“I’m also encouraged to see that the Government has said it will now directly fund the clean-up of some of the worst illegal waste sites in the country – of which Knowsley’s must undoubtedly be one. And whilst we have not yet had confirmation that our site will be one of those, we hope that this will follow soon. I will be visiting the relevant minister when I travel down to Westminster next month and will be raising this as a matter of urgency.
“In the meantime, investigation work by the Environment Agency is continuing and we – alongside other agencies – are fully supporting this. It is essential that those responsible for this waste site must face the consequences of their appalling actions.”