12 minute read
Grower hopping mad after waste discovery
A Kent hop grower already dealing with the downturn in demand following the Covid-19 pandemic had “better things to do than shovel up someone else’s rubbish” after it was dumped in countryside near his farm.
For Mark Batt, a fourth generation hop grower with H M Batt and Son, the fly-tipping was “the icing on the cake”, but something he dealt with because of his love of the countryside. “It’s a piece of land we maintain and mow, although it’s not technically on the farm,” he explained. “I couldn’t just leave the rubbish there.”
When Ashford Borough Council’s Enforcement Team got involved with the fly-tipping in Romden Road, Smarden, they found evidence linking the rubbish to an address in Ashford, and two residents of the house who were interviewed under caution confirmed the waste was theirs.
The main householder said that he had been approached by unknown men in a white Ford tipper truck who were offering waste removal services door-to-door.
The resident paid £150 to have their domestic waste and scrap metal removed, but although the householder was given a receipt they failed to carry out the correct checks to ensure the waste collectors were official and held an Environment Agency waste carrier’s licence or an Ashford Borough Council scrap metal collector’s licence.
Neither licence was shown at the time of collection by the men in the tipper truck. The rubbish was dumped 16 miles away and the main householder was issued with a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice for failing in their Householder’s Duty of Care. Investigations are continuing to track down the two men in the white Ford tipper truck.
Mark praised the work of the enforcement team in cracking down on fly-tippers. “It’s great to see,” he said. “I stopped work to sort it out because I hate seeing the countryside we live in looking such a mess. I would advise anyone in a similar situation to get the council involved, particularly if any of the rubbish has an address on it.”
H M Batt and Son’s hops grown at Buckman Green Farm are sold all over the world and end up in British cask ales, but the downturn in pub trade and a trend towards using more citrus-flavoured US hops has hit business over the past few years.
“Life’s difficult enough at the moment and we didn’t need to spend time clearing up someone else’s mess,” Matt commented, adding that it was not the farm’s first experience of fly-tipping. “We’ve had burnt out cars blocking gateways and many other problems with rubbish being tipped. It’s hassle we don’t need,” he commented. “What we do need is for brewers to start buying Kentish-grown hops again.”
The Smarden incident was one of two cases which saw Ashford residents hit with £400 Fixed Penalty Notices (reduced to £300 if they are paid within 10 days) after being tracked down by the team.
The other case involved fly-tipping along Cheeseman’s Green Lane, Kingsnorth, where a number of black sacks and other waste items were dumped in a rural layby. Officers combed through the waste and found evidence relating to a female living a mile away.
During an interview under caution, she said she had held a house party and that rubbish from the party was given to her friends, who she believed would dispose of it at their home address. Instead, the bags were dumped nearby. She declined to give the investigating officer details of her friends.
> The flytip in Cheeseman's Green Lane.
Photos: Ashford Borough Council > The flytip in Smarden
With the past two shows having been cancelled because of the pandemic, organisers of the 75th anniversary Heathfield Agricultural Show on 28 May are looking forward to big crowds as people emerge from show ‘hibernation’ and start to get their livestock ‘show ready’ once again.
Organisers promise a full showing schedule and a number of exciting events around the showground throughout the day, including a flypast by a Hurricane (subject to weather conditions) and the launch of the Queen’s Green Canopy Jubilee Appeal for East Sussex.
Entries for all cattle, sheep, pig and horse classes are now live on the new show website at www.heathfieldshow.org, the place to go for the latest show news.
Also new for this anniversary show is a £500 prize, kindly donated by PJ Skips, for the Champion of Champions in the horse section of the show, which organisers promise will live up to its new slogan: "A Real Look At Country Life".
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