Borstal: Pollution fears over unlicensed waste dumping

The owner of the land says half is rented out to skip companies and the other half is being prepared for horses

Allegations that large quantities of waste are being dumped on land within the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty are being investigated.

Residents living near land at Wouldham Road in Borstal say a steady stream of large lorries have been seen arriving at the site, without a licence.

Local MP Kelly Tolhurst said she fears pollution would enter the River Medway.

A spokesman for the site's owner said he was trying to evict skip companies which rent part of his land.

He said he was bringing in topsoil for his part of the land to help grow grass for horses.

The Environment Agency said specialist officers were investigating the "alleged illegal activity".

'Burying rubbish'

Borstal residents say they have been watching lorries carrying waste, rubble and soil-like material tipping their loads on the site.

One, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, has spoken to the BBC.

They said: "They started bringing in van loads of rubbish and burning it, and that was putting smoke over the village.

"There was complaints on the local Facebook [page] about what was the smell in the mornings.

"From there they went on to actually burying the rubbish in the field and then bringing in lorry loads of earth from somewhere and just kept burying it."

'Lack of action'

Kelly Tolhurst, Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, said she was concerned pollution from the site could be entering the River Medway.

She said: "I have recently met with the Environment Agency to challenge them about their lack of action on this site.

"They have assured me now that they are going to be working with [Medway] council in order to come up with a strategy to tackle that. It can't come quick enough.

"I will keep pushing them over the summer to make sure that that action is taken. It's gone on for far too long, enough is enough, and we need to stop it."

Residents of Borstal say van-loads of rubbish were being burned on the site (photo from February 2021)

A spokesman for the owner of the site, John Treeby, said the "soil-like loads" were topsoil which was being brought in to fertilise the field to grow grass for horses.

He said Mr Treeby was trying to evict skip companies who rent the land next to it where the waste is being dumped.

In a statement, the Environment Agency said: "Our specialist officers are investigating alleged illegal activity at a waste site at Wouldham Road in Borstal.

"We keep all enforcement options under constant review and are grateful to members of the public who contacted us about the site."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].