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Tonnes of waste allegedly dumped illegally

Edward RoweGloucestershire Political Reporter
News imageBBC A picture of what appears to be a large illegal waste tip in the countryside. The site is flanked by green field on one side and flood plain on the other. The aerial view seems to show rubble and waste in the field. BBC
One of the sites at Over just outside of Gloucester covers a large area of countryside

The Environment Agency (EA) has said it is investigating two sites for alleged persistent fly-tipping.

The sites are at Over near Gloucester and Rudford in the Forest of Dean, with Highnam Parish Council saying the site at Over had been operating for seven years.

Forest of Dean District Council said it has served the landowner of the Rudford site with a Planning Enforcement Action after uncovering what it described as serious environmental breaches, ordering him to stop using the land for unapproved activities like "depositing" construction waste.

The landowner of the Rudford site has denied any wrongdoing while the landowner of the Over site hasn't responded to the BBC's questions.

News imageThis close up picture of the waste shows the amount of detritus in the layers of waste below. It looks like a hill of rubbish with various bits of vegetation poking out and the sky visible at the top of the frame.
Some believe thousands of tonnes of waste have been dumped at the Over site (pictured)

The BBC understands no such planning enforcement action has been taken by Tewkesbury Borough Council at the Highnam site.

Witnesses have told the BBC that at its height, 30-50 vehicles were going onto the site near the Over roundabout every day.

A fire in June 2025, which saw Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service called out, caused operations at the site to largely cease.

But now the parish council said the large pile of rubbish is leaking into the floodplain of the River Leadon, which flows into the River Severn.

News imageGoogle Earth A satellite image with 2017 in white blocks on the bottom left of the image. The image shows fields with trees a single track road running through the countryside with no clear issues with this countryside scene. There seems to be some white dots at the entrance to the site which has allegedly been used for waste dumping but it's difficult to make out what they are.Google Earth
News imageGoogle earth A satellite image with 2018 in white blocks on the bottom left of the image. The image shows the same scene as the previous one but there's now a large brown area on the right hand site where before there were fields with trees. The area appears to have been cleared and looks more like a builders yard as opposed to a countryside field.Google earth
The Over site has changed significantly since 2017 with the waste site appearing to increase
From the satellite images is appears things started to change at the site in 2018

Charlie Coats is the chairman of Highnam Parish Council, which says it has been asking the EA to get something done for seven years.

"It's tipping on quite a large scale, probably tens of thousands of tonnes. No effective action has been taken to bring this under control," Mr Coats added.

The parish council has lodged a formal complaint to the chief executive of the EA over a lack of action.

The council has also copied in the secretary of state for the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

An EA spokesperson said it is "pulling every lever available" to "disrupt those who profit from the harm illegal waste sites cause".

"Illegal waste crime scars our communities, and we're committed to tackling it in Gloucestershire working with police and councils," the spokesperson added.

News imageThe image shows rubble and waste mixed in with earth and vegetation. A small tree is growing on the left hand side of the image amongst the waste which is piled high up a hill.
The site sits at the end of Over Basin of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal

The BBC contacted Tewkesbury Borough Council and Gloucestershire County Council about the illegal dumping. Both said it was a matter for the EA.

According to UK Land Registry the landowner lives in Oxfordshire.

The BBC has contacted them asking a number of questions around whether they were aware waste was being tipped onto the site but has not had a response.

EA investigating two sites

News imageThe still image shows blue sky trees in the background and long grass in the foreground. The foreground also contains a dust cart which appears to be tipping material out of the back.
Another site in Rudford, three miles away, has been used with the landowner served a Planning Enforcement Action

The EA is also investigating a site at Rudford, four miles away from the illegal Over tip.

Residents claim tipping has gone on there semi-regularly for more than two decades, but has worsened again after the fire at the Over site.

"It's hideous and it's destroying the environment as well that used to be a lovely footpath along there and it's all lost now," local resident Margaret Orritt said.

Robert Heigham, who has lived in the village for 34 years, said: "He's tipping stuff that shouldn't be tipped down there" and claimed it was related to agricultural or equestrian services.

"It's just blatant fly-tipping," he said.

Land registry documents show the owner of the site to be Marshall Oldham.

Mr Oldham has been served a Planning Enforcement Action by Forest of Dean District Council for 'the importation, depositing and movement of materials' which includes 'construction waste'.

In a statement, the council said it had taken action against 'serious breaches of environmental regulations'.

"This case sends a clear message that we will take enforcement action where businesses fail to comply with environmental laws."

The EA is also investigating the site.

The BBC contacted Mr Oldham about these specific allegations. His planning agent responded on his behalf calling the allegations "unfounded".

Last year, the EA successfully stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites, of which 143 were high risk.

"If people suspect illegal waste activities they should contact our 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111," a spokesperson said.

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