Real-time action needed on illegal dumping – baroness

Official bodies must act in real time when environmental crime happens, a committee has been told.

Baroness Shas Sheehan, chairwoman of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, accused the Environment Agency, local authorities and the police of doing nothing when cases of illegal waste dumping were reported to them.

Speaking as a £15m clean-up operation to remove waste continued at Hoads Wood, in Kent, she highlighted BBC reports which brought attention to the matter.

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy denied organisations did not act when they were informed of dumped rubbish.

Baroness Sheehan said: "What we really need, that's why we recommended, is a dedicated waste hotline, but not one that is a dead end one, but that is triaged, and that hopefully goes to a rapid response unit in the local area.

"They can move in real time almost, just behind real time, and apprehend the criminals as they're going about their business, in a way that drones, satellite imaging, CCTV cameras can't."

She said that when waste crime was currently reported, "nothing happens".

"The environment agency, the local authority, the police do nothing," she added.

Baroness Sheehan said the only reason anything was done was after it was highlighted by the press.

"The site continued to build up over a number of years, and it wasn't until the BBC South East reporter Yvette Austin shone a media spotlight on it, that any action was taken by the Environment Agency."

Duffy called it "unfair and also factually incorrect" to claim that nothing was done if the hotline was called.

"That is not something I think we can allow on record because it's not what happens," he said.

He added that action was taken but there were questions over whether they should contact callers to let them know things were in hand.

"The citizen may feel they didn't get the feedback they wanted," he added.

"That is a very good point. But we will take action on that, and we do look at those reports we get."

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.