29/09/2005 - An ancient
highway was seriously damaged by an earth
moving contractor who admitted he had made
a mistake. His mistake today cost him a £5,000
fine and £2,000 costs at Grantham Magistrates
Court.
Adrian Morris, trading as Adrian Morris Plant
and Contracting of Buckminster Road, Coston
pleaded guilty to a single offence of disposing
of a quantity of excess spoil, earth and rubble
on 500 m of the Viking Way, Skillington, Grantham,
in a manner likely to cause pollution of the
environment. (See notes to editors).
He had been contracted by the Buckminster
Trust Estate which owns and manages 22,000
acres of agricultural land mostly in the Buckminster
area. He was to cut certain railway embankments
and fill the void space with the resulting
spoil.
The network of private railways which had
developed over the years to help with the
mining and transport of ironstone had become
obsolete, a hindrance to the management of
the estate and inappropriately used as rights
of way.
Morris, however, decided to put about 3,600
cubic metres of the waste onto the Viking
Way where it had been hollowed over the millenia
by the passage of feet and vehicles.
Magistrates were told that the features of
500 metres of the ancient track, which dates
back to at least Roman times, had been obliterated
with the depth of the spoil ranging between
20cms one side and 1 metre deep at the other
side of the 15m wide highway.
The change in its character and appearance
have seriously interfered with the amenity
value of the area for the public who use and
enjoy the highway.
The 130-mile Viking Way runs from the River
Humber to Oakham in Rutland and was originally
named to reflect the influence of Danelaw
and was officially opened in 1976 as a result
of the collaboration between various local
authorities and members of the Ramblers Association.
It is a well publicised route and is a designated
public highway maintained at public expense
by the Highway Authority. As such, Morris
would have needed a licence or an exemption
from having a licence to place controlled
waste onto the highway as well as planning
permission from the local authority, none
of which he had.
The highway is one of the few remaining and
rich native floras in the area and is connected
to other parts of the Viking Way which are
classified as a Site of Nature Conservation
Importance and Sites of Special Scientific
Interest.
Natural flora has been destroyed around the
road and will not re-establish because of
the type of waste dumped on it, according
to a woodlands officer with Lincolnshire County
Council.
Morris pleaded guilty to: On or about 19
November 2003 on an ancient highway known
as “Viking Way”, Skillington, Grantham, Lincolnshire,
did dispose of a quantity of excess spoil
in a manner likely to cause pollution of the
environment as defined in Section 29(3) and
(5) Environmental Protection Act 11000. Contrary
to Section 33(1)(c) Environmental Protection
Act 11000. (See notes to editors).
After the hearing Environment Agency team
leader John Giles said: ‘The court has recognised
that Mr Morris showed a clear and reckless
disregard for the natural environment.
‘Controlled waste was disposed of in a manner
that led directly to the destruction of the
native flora over 500 metres of the ancient
highway. The case highlights the damage that
can be caused when people operate outside
the law and without the appropriate permissions
in place.
‘The Highways Authority must now determine
how best to restore this stretch of the Viking
Way so that it can be enjoyed by the public
once more'.
ENDS
Note to editors: Please note that "pollution"
in the context of this case (which involved
the deposit of inert/non toxic spoil/earth/rubble)
is to be defined as harm to the property of
man and offence to his senses (Environmental
Protection Act 11000 section 29).
