Probe launched into mass fly-tipping on farmland

A digger helps a lorry tip its load at the site at Iwade, near Sittingbourne

An investigation is under way into another case of large-scale illegal waste dumping in Kent, described as “systematic destruction” of large swathes of countryside.

Piles of waste, mostly shredded plastics, are being brought to the site at Iwade, near Sittingbourne, by a regular stream of lorries, according to local residents.

It follows other cases of tipping at Hoad’s Wood, near Ashford, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and at Borstal, near Rochester, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

At this latest site on farmland at Iwade, drone pictures shot by the BBC show what appears to be waste being tipped.

The ground looks prepared for arrival of the waste

A man standing by the diggers in the foreground provides a sense of scale

Martin Montague, founder of the ClearWaste app for licensed waste removal, said: “What we’ve got here is systematic destruction of a large part of Kent’s countryside.”

He added: “We’ve got massive processing of illegal waste being dumped there and this is fly-tipping on an absolutely epidemic scale.”

Residents living near the site at Raspberry Hill Park Farm say it has been going on for years and are calling for action to stop it.

Waste disposal sites require a permit from the Environment Agency or an exemption from needing one. The BBC has established that the site has neither.

Local people are worried to speak out for fear of reprisals.

One resident, who declined to be identified, told BBC South East: “It’s a constant stream of lorries going up there tipping stuff. Bonfires.. we see the black smoke all the time.

“It’s just a regular base of criminality. It’s massive. And the amount of stuff they’re putting in there day after day after day.”

Shredded plastic is among the waste left at the site

Plastic can be seen among the waste

According to Land Registry records, the site was bought in 2002 for £172,000. However, the BBC has been unable to trace the owner of the site or establish whether they know about the operation.

The Environment Agency said an investigation into the site was being led by Kent County Council (KCC).

A KCC spokesperson said: “KCC is one of a group of regulatory bodies involved in the Raspberry Hill Park Farm site. The other principal parties are Swale Borough Council, the Environment Agency, and the police.

“The case is being handled on a partnership basis, with collective meetings and actions.

“Contributions are made from within the remit and expertise of each authority / agency, combining towards the overall site objectives.”

A BBC drone captures the size of the operation

David Mairs, spokesperson for the Campaign to Protect Rural England in Kent, said: “We’d like to a see a protocol in place, whereby all the authorities have a system, so when it does happen, it’s you do this, you do that and you do that. And we get it sorted and we tackle it. We don’t just let it linger and run on forever to the point when it is almost impossible to turn around.”

Industry research suggests waste crime costs the English economy £1 billion every year through evaded land fill tax, environmental and social harm and lost legitimate business.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency said it was continuing to investigate the site at Hoad's Wood and Borstal.