Waste mountain clearance 'to start in February'

Work to clear a mountain of fly-tipped waste in Oxfordshire is set to begin in February, the government has said.

About 20,000 tonnes of waste was illegally dumped on a field beside the A34 at Kidlington over a period of several months, Calum Miller MP told the House of Commons.

On 11 December, the Environment Agency (EA) said preparatory work to remove the tip would begin "imminently", but Miller told MPs nothing appeared to have been done.

Environment minister Mary Creagh said the work was expected to take about six to nine months.

Responding to Miller in Tuesday's adjournment debate, she said: "The Environment Agency will continue to closely monitor the site whilst preparatory work takes place.

"They've informed me today that prep work will begin shortly, and clearance of the waste is expected to start in February."

The mound of rubbish is made of what appears to be processed domestic waste, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres and other household items, and stretches for about 150m (490ft) through a field near the River Cherwell.

The EA previously estimated it at 10,000 tonnes but subsequent investigations had seen that figure rise to about 20,000 tonnes.

The agency said it was made aware of the incident in July and issued an immediate cease-and-desist order on the landowner, before finally closing the site in October.

Joshua Eastwood, who owns land nearby, previously said he saw truckloads being dumped there every night during the summer.

Miller told MPs his constituents were "deeply frustrated that more than six months after it was first visited by the Environment Agency, the waste is still there".

The Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock said the tip still posed risks of fire and river pollution.

Creagh responded: "This location presents an overriding public imperative.

"That is why the Environment Agency therefore took the exceptional decision to clear the waste and it's why they are working rapidly to implement a safe, systematic and focused clearance plan."

The minister said the risk of river pollution was "very low".

She urged people not to climb on the waste, due to the danger to themselves and the risk of compromising the ongoing criminal investigation.

A 39-year-old man from the Guildford area was arrested over the incident in November.

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.