Kiveton: Ex-director disqualified and fined after illegally spreading liquid waste

A former company director from Kiveton has been disqualified and fined after pleading guilty to eight charges relating to illegal land spreading activities at two farms.
Nottingham Crown COurt.Nottingham Crown COurt.
Nottingham Crown COurt.

Timothy Rowley, 39, formerly of Tank Industrial Maintenance Limited, Sheffield, admitted the offences at Nottingham Crown Court on 23rd February.

Tank Industrial Maintenance Limited also pleaded guilty to a further charge of failing to ensure land spreading activities were overseen by a technically competent person. The offences were committed between February 2013 and September 2013.

Prosecuting for the Environment Agency (EA), Christopher Stables, said the company, which specialises in the removal of liquid food waste, spread approximately 2,023 tonnes of liquid waste to fields at Baxter Farm, Doncaster and Clumber Farm, Worksop, without a deployment form being agreed by the EA.

The company had an environmental permit that allowed them to spread food waste to land.

However, a condition of the permit was that a deployment form was submitted and agreed by the EA.

In order to maintain the company’s contracts with the waste producers, Rowley, who was in charge of land spreading activities, had decided to spread food waste to land as the company had collected too much liquid waste from the producers.

In mitigation, defendants said they did not realise the deployment had expired at Baxter Farm and in respect of Clumber Farm, had to spread the waste because the EA was, in the view of the company, ‘taking too long to process the deployment application’.

Rowley, who has since resigned from the company, was disqualified as a director for four years, fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a contribution towards prosecution costs of £572 in view of his limited means. Tank Industrial Maintenance Limited was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £18,000.