Illegal waste site near Kidlington
Illegal waste site near Kidlington
Background
The Environment Agency is investigating an illegal waste site near the A34 in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. We share the public's disgust at the large-scale illegal waste that has been dumped on the site.
Environment Agency's response
In response to evidence from the public, our officers and partner organisations attended the site on 2 July. At this point we confirmed it as a high-risk illegal waste site requiring urgent action.
We immediately began work to prevent further activity on site
We issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter to the landowner on 31st July
When further dumping occurred, we secured a court order to close the site to prevent more waste from being illegally tipped. This was issued by the court on 23 October.
Following that order, we closed access to the site and there has been no further dumping on the site.
Unfortunately, the majority of the waste was tipped before we became aware. Once we were notified, we acted swiftly.
There have been some false reports in the media and online about some of our response. We’d like to set the record straight on this:
"All EA did was put a sign on the gate. It has been too slow to find the culprits." Not true. When the site was reported to the Environment Agency, we launched a criminal investigation to find those responsible, closed the site to prevent further dumping and continue to monitor the area for environmental harm.
"Dumping continued after we closed the site on 23 October." Not true. We have no evidence of more waste dumped at the site since 1 October.
“EA is too busy to deal with this among all its other work." Not true. We have the resources, expertise and determination to deal with this situation effectively. We have stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites in the past year.
What we are doing now
We are continuing to assess any risks to people and the environment including the potential impact of the waste on local air and water quality and options for mitigating those risks. We have installed a boom at the end of the ditch to reduce the risk of waste material flowing downstream into the River Cherwell. We are also actively sampling and monitoring the site and at specific locations on the River Cherwell.
How the waste will be cleared up
At this current time, we cannot commit to a timeline for when the waste will be cleared but as a matter of principle we believe that those that pollute, rather than taxpayers, should cover the cost of the clean-up.
However, we are reviewing options for site clearance. This is not a quick process as, unlike the criminals that dumped it there, we have to ensure this vast amount of waste is handled correctly, moved to the right facilities and is done so without causing further damage to the environment.
At this time, we cannot provide any further information as it's important that we don't comment on an ongoing investigation as to not prejudice its outcome.
Who we are working with
We're working closely with our partners to tackle this incident head-on. Multi-agency coordination is essential in situations like this, and the Environment Agency is overseeing the joint response. We have been working together on the response and on 19 November we convened a multi-agency meeting which included Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council, Thames Valley Police, Fire and Rescue service and National Highways to ensure a unified approach to protecting the local environment and addressing community concerns. This partnership ensures every agency brings its full capabilities to bear on the problem.
How you can help us
We understand people are concerned about the impacts of this high-risk illegal waste site and are keen to help in any way they can. We share these concerns and are horrified how these criminals have impacted the local environment.
It is essential that people do not attend the site, as you will be in breach of the restriction order and will be placing yourself and our investigations at risk. Our specialist officers are carrying out an extensive sampling process to establish what substances are present, and as a restricted site, nobody can enter the land without our permission for at least 6 months.
Information from members of the public is critical. Please call our free 24 hour incident hotline on 0800 807060 if you have any information related to this incident. You can also report information to Crimestoppers on their website.
Our wider work against waste crime
Waste crime undermines legitimate businesses and costs England's economy around £1 billion a year. We're determined to turn the tide.
In 2024/5, the Environment Agency successfully stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites, of which 143 were high risk. Our enforcement officers also prevented nearly 34,000 tonnes of waste from being illegally exported.
We've also established an Economic Crime Unit within our National Environmental Crime Unit to target the money and assets of waste criminals.
In 2024/25, we supported 21 ongoing money laundering investigations, secured 5 account freezing orders and 1 cash detention (£17.9k forfeited, £2.9 million frozen), and finalised 13 confiscation orders totalling £1.55 million.
We will continue working tirelessly with compliant businesses, operators and partners to protect our environment and communities from waste crime.
Footpath closure
In the interests of public safety, Oxfordshire County Council have temporarily closed Footpath 9 [237/9] from the Bicester Road, Gosford, to the East side of the A34, due to the illegal waste deposit. A Temporary Traffic Regulation Order is being made to implement the temporary closure and will operate from 9 December for an estimated duration of 6 months. The estimated duration is for the maximum duration of a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order on a footpath, which is 6 months. There is no available diversion route, but emergency services will still be able to access the footpath if required.
![Map showing the location of footpath 9 [237/9] from the Bicester Road, Gosford, to the East side onf the A34](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-europe/013837e741c340b2be43934f7b521b9bec51caf1/original/1764088119/df03ff4420e2686756ebc459473481ec_Footpath%20closure%2019112025.png?1764088119)