STORY
An illegal waste site in Sheffield has been cleared after a prosecution by the Environment Agency led to its owner and director being ordered to remove the material. Concept Investments Limited and its director Austin Fitzgerald had admitted offences connected with allowing an illegal waste operation to take place at the former Stanley Works site on Rutland Road.
The Environment Agency first visited the site in July 2022 and found a large quantity of mixed waste. Despite repeated instructions and a formal notice requiring the land to be cleared, further inspections found that waste remained and additional material had accumulated. Complaints were later received about waste being burned at the site, with Sheffield City Council advising the operator to stop because of the impact on nearby residents. The site has now been completely cleared of material including fridges, electrical equipment, soil and stones.
At Sheffield Magistrates’ Court in April, Concept Investments was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £5,442 in costs. Fitzgerald received a 12 month community order requiring 140 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £5,442 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge. A 38 year old Sheffield man has separately pleaded guilty to operating the illegal waste site and is due to be sentenced on 16 September. Environment Agency official Ben Hocking said the case should serve as a warning that action would be taken against landowners who allow illegal waste activity on their property.