- Environment Agency investigation leads to prosecution
- Defendant stored waste without necessary environmental permit
- Sentencing hearing at Telford Magistrates Court on Monday 11 August 2025
At Telford Magistrates Court on 11 August 2025, Brian Woods, 70, of Limekiln Bank, St Georges, Telford, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a court order to clear waste from a site on Granville Road, Donnington Wood.
He had previously admitted, at a hearing on 16 June 2025, to running a waste operation without a permit, contrary to Environmental Permitting Regulations.
For that offence, he received a 12-month community order to do 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,470 in costs and £114 victim’s surcharge.
The case started in August 2019 when Woods admitted to storing waste on the site between December 2016 and April 2017 without an environmental permit.
The case was adjourned on condition that Woods removed all the waste from the site by July 26 2020. He was also ordered not to bring any additional waste onto the site.
Between July 2020 and June 2024, Environment Agency officers made several checks on the site to find that the waste had not been removed.
Woods on a number of occasions did not attend scheduled meetings. He cited ill health or medical appointments as the reason.
The defendant said in mitigation that following the collapse of his business he was not in a financial position to clear the site of waste.
It was said some 75% of the waste had now been removed.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said
The Environment Agency will pursue any person or company that fails to uphold the law to protect nature and will continue to press for the strongest possible penalties.
Failure to comply with these legal requirements is a serious offence that can damage the environment and harm human health.
If anyone has environmental concerns they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers anonymously and in confidence on 0800 555 111.
The Charges
Brian Anthony Woods between 27 July 2020 and 26 April 2024, at The Old Granville, Granville Road, Donnington Wood, Telford, did operate a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the storage of waste, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
On 27 July 2020 and continuing, Brian Anthony Woods disobeyed the order of Telford Magistrates Court dated 27 January 2020 made under Regulation 44 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 in that he failed to remove all waste from the site at The Old Granville, Granville Road, Donnington Wood, Telford, on or before 26th July 2020.
