A MAN who leased land at Newton Abbot to run an illegal site where thousands of tonnes of construction waste were stored illegally has been prosecuted by the Environment Agency (EA).

Philip Liley, of Sidmouth Road, Exeter, who was director of the then Sweeper Hire and Hoses Ltd business based at Higher Brocks Plantation, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, pleaded guilty at Exeter Crown Court.

Liley was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 300 hours of unpaid work.

Chris Lawson of the Environment Agency, said: ‘Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and the environment.

‘Illegal waste activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the local environment at risk and impacting on the local community.

'I hope the verdict sends a clear message to illegal waste operators that we are committed to tackling the blight of waste crime and will use all powers available to us to catch offenders.’

The court heard in March 2023, following a report of a pollution into a tributary of the River Bovey, EA officers found a pipe discharging a grey/brown liquid into the watercourse.

The source of the discharge was found to be Liley’s site that he leased at Newton Abbot, which was churned up and with heavy plant machinery operating on it, causing the runoff to enter the river.

The EA was informed by a sub-contractor working on the site that approximately 15,000 tonnes of inert waste had been imported onto the premises. Groundworks at the site were stopped immediately to limit harm to the local environment.

Investigations revealed the site was being leased by a company called Sweeper Hire and Hoses Ltd and there were no environmental permits or exemptions covering the waste activities ongoing at the site. Neither were there any outstanding planning permission applications.

During an EA site inspection, a substantial amount of waste material was present onsite.

It appeared that it was being hidden by being pushed and deposited into the trees both at the sides of the premises and in the middle.

Work also appeared to be ongoing to level the waste across the site.

The same day, the EA served a notice requiring the company to produce waste transfer notes for waste imported to the site over the previous two years.

Liley had originally leased the land for five years from September 2021, trading as Sweepers and Hoses Ltd.

However, due to issues with Phillip Liley not providing waste transfer notes, test results for the material being imported and following an inspection of the site, Mr Liley had been given notice to leave the site by the landowner he leased it from.

From the waste transfer notes provided, a minimum of 2,960 tonnes in total had been imported to the site between 18 May 2022 and 3 February 2023.

Liley resigned as director of the business on March 1 2023 and refused all attempts by the EA to be interviewed to explain his actions and the legitimacy of his waste business.