Call for government to pay £10m dumped-waste bill

A campaign group said the waste covers four acres of woodland

A Liberal Democrat peer has called on the government to pay the full cost of clearing waste dumped in a wood near Ashford in Kent.

Thousands of tonnes of waste, including rubble, toys and sanitary products, have turned once-picturesque Hoads Wood into a “desolate wasteland”, according to CPRE Kent.

Earl Russell asked the House of Lords on Tuesday if the government would commit to the clear-up costs, estimated to be about £10 million.

Lord Douglas-Miller, a government minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the Hoads Wood situation was "appalling".

Earl Russell said: “Large-scale criminal enterprise fly-tipping is out of control and has increased by 13% between 2021 and 2022.

“In areas such as Hoads Wood, it was reported that up to 30 trucks of illegal waste were being dumped every day between July last year and January this year, with no effective action being taken.”

'30 trucks each day'

Lord Douglas-Miller said the dumping of rubbish in Hoads Wood was "appalling" but that he was unable to comment further as the matter was the subject of a live investigation.

“However, I can assure the House that the government is determined to bring those responsible to account,” he said.

Lord Douglas-Miller said the government had written to the chief executive of the Environment Agency asking him to draw up delivery plans to resolve the situation.

“As part of that, we will consider how best to support the clearance of waste from the site,” he said.

“The Environment Agency has powers to recover the cost of action to clear the waste from those responsible.”

Rescue Hoads Wood campaigners said community members would see as many as 20-30 trucks per day dumping waste at the woods at the height of the problem in July 2023.