Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

A company has been ordered to pay more than £12,500 for illegally dumping waste on common land near Senghenydd.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) prosecuted Bob Gay Plant Hire Ltd for an illegal disposal of soil and construction waste.

Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court heard that 2,900 tonnes of the waste was dumped between March and July 2020 without the necessary permits or exemptions in place.

The last deposit was after NRW had ordered the company not to dispose any more waste following its initial investigation, which the district judge deemed deliberate.

The company was directed to put the waste on Eglwysilan Common by Terry Jones of Pen-yr-Heol Las Farm.

Mr Jones had registered a waste exemption at his farm to use waste in construction. But the exemption did not include the nearby common and far exceeded the 1,000 tonnes allowed of this type of waste to be stored for use.

At the hearing on March 16, the district judge fined the company a total of £7,320 and ordered them to pay NRW costs of £5,197 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Jon Goldsworthy, Operations Manager for NRW, said: “We hope the outcome of this case sends a clear message that we will always take the appropriate steps to protect people and nature while also protecting the marketplace for legitimate operators.”