Suspended sentence issued for illegal waste site operations

On 15 August, Kirkbride appeared at Preston Crown Court and was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and 200 hours of unpaid work. He was also banned from being a company director for five years.

An investigation conducted by the Environment Agency revealed that thousands of tonnes of combustible waste had been stored in breach of permit conditions, with operations continuing even after a suspension notice was issued.

The abandoned waste led to a major fire at the premises in December 2023, which caused significant disruption to neighbouring businesses and left firefighting and clean-up costs totalling over £2 million.

Large quantities of combustible waste were stored far in excess of the 500-tonne, seven-day limit set in the site’s environmental permit.

Ignored orders

In February 2022, the Environment Agency suspended the site’s permit because of the significant fire risk, but waste imports continued until April 2022 and then under a second company until October of that year.

The site’s permit was revoked by the Environment Agency in November 2022.

Between September 2021 and October 2022, Kirkbride (as a company director) was found to have deliberately breached environmental permit limits, operated unpermitted waste sites, repeatedly failed to comply with Enforcement Notices and deposited waste without the necessary authorisations.

Further offences involve waste storage breaches at Unit C4 and the illegal use of Unit C3, which had no permit in place.

“Distress and destruction”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Illegal waste activity and breaches of environmental permits put communities, businesses and the environment at serious risk.”

The spokesperson continued: “The defendant repeatedly and deliberately ignored environmental law and defied enforcement action by continuing to breach the law with no consideration for the environment or the community of Lancaster.”

In addition, the spokesperson noted: “Kirkbride’s actions led to a major fire that ultimately caused weeks of harm and disruption to local residents and businesses. The costs involved to resolve and clear everything at the site were borne by the Emergency Services and multi-agency partners including the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Lancaster City Council.”

The statement concludes: “Waste criminals cause distress to our communities and can destroy the environment. This case demonstrates that we will continue to pursue and take robust action against anyone operating outside the law.”

Guilty pleas

Kirkbride pleaded guilty to four counts of the offence of depositing controlled waste at Unit 37 on the Lune Industrial Estate without an environmental permit, contrary to Section 33(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

He also pleaded guilty to three counts of the offence of breaching conditions under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 relating to the operation of waste sites at Units C3 and C4 on the Lune Industrial Estate.