Burnley | Watchlist Site 23
Site Information
Large-scale dumping of an estimated 50,000 tonnes of predominantly alleged soil waste on agricultural land without the relevant environmental permit.
The Problem
Areas on the site are contaminated with construction and commercial waste. Traffic is also a concern as heavy goods vehicles pass through a residential area to get to the site at all hours of the day. Recent burning at the site has also been reported.
Our Action
The operation first came to the attention of the Environment Agency’s Cumbria and Lancashire Area Environmental Crime team in March 2024, and a regulatory notice was issued to the operator to prevent further deposits of waste. Since that time, illegal waste activity has continued, and a criminal investigation is now underway.
Multi-partner site visits and disruption activities have been delivered and enforcement action is ongoing.
Moving forward, we plan to carry on working with our partners to monitor the site, using all our available powers. We will continue to assess environmental risks and take appropriate enforcement action where necessary. Our focus is to reduce the impact on the community and hold the operator to account. We have been in correspondence with the local MP and other elected members to keep them updated.