An ancient woodland in Kent used by criminals as a dumping ground for 30,000 tonnes of illegal waste is to be cleared.
The Environment Agency began a criminal investigation last year after household and construction waste, piled 15 feet high in places, was discovered snaking through Hoads Wood, near Ashford.
Investigators say gangs of organised criminals are behind how the debris and aggregate got there.
A specialist company has been employed to remove the waste to help the woodland return to the green thicket it once was.
Acumen Waste Services Ltd, of Knottingley in West Yorkshire, will work with the Environment Agency to remove the waste from the affected 2 acres of the 200-acre wood. It will then be disposed of at authorised sites, but tested first for any potential hazards.
Matt Higginson, environment manager for the Environment Agency in Kent, said
Criminals took advantage of the public who believed them to be legitimate operators taking their waste away legally. But they were anything but lawful, making money from it, then shamelessly dumping it in a protected woodland. It became someone else’s problem to clear up.
We are determined the criminals will answer for their actions in court. Our investigation to find and prosecute those responsible continues. The Environment Agency plans to retrieve the costs of clearing Hoads Wood from those who spoiled the area. It should not be the taxpayer picking up the bill.
The waste will be tested to determine potential hazards before it is taken away. I want the waste removed as quickly as possible, but it has to be done without further harm to the local environment as a whole or the staff involved.
These unknown hazards, which could be buried deep in the 30,000 tonnes of waste, and the location, a site of special scientific interest, mean extreme care will be needed before and during removal.
Extreme care will be needed to remove the vast swathes of household and builders waste without further damage after it was dumped by criminals in this Kent woodland
The Environment Agency secured a court order in January, banning unauthorised access to the woodland and to successfully stop more waste being dumped.
The appointment of Acumen concludes an open tender process that began after the Environment Agency acted on a direction from the-then environment secretary, Steve Barclay, in May to begin the process of clearing the site.
Alongside the criminal investigation, which includes other illegal waste sites in Kent and beyond, the Environment Agency has monitored the site for any effect on air or water quality and will continue to do so throughout the clearance.
Landfill and hydrogen sulphide gases have been frequently detected on the site and at times, outside the area dominated by the waste. Fortunately, monitoring of the nearby River Beult hasn’t shown a significant and lasting effect on water quality.
Timescales for removal of the waste will be announced in due course.
The Environment Agency will ensure all necessary environmental authorisations are in place while the waste is cleared. Work will be carried out alongside and with the agreement of Natural England, the Forestry Commission and Ashford Borough Council.
Enforcement action already carried out as part of the wider criminal investigation includes waste carriers given a combined nine fixed penalty notices totalling £2,300.
In that operation, Kent Police also sanctioned lorries for insecure loads, driving without insurance and or a licence, not wearing a seatbelt, and a vehicle having defective tyres.
In the year to March 2023, the Environment Agency closed 482 illegal waste sites across England, securing 83 prosecutions against waste criminals who were either jailed or fined a total of £5.7m and ordered to pay another £1.4m in costs.
Any suspected waste crime can be reported to the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline, 0800 807060, or to Crimestoppers 0800 555111.
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