A man described as “arrogant” by a judge has been sentenced for arranging waste to be illegally dumped on his rural land near Consett.
Peter Snailum, 64, appeared at Durham Crown Court for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to two offences of depositing waste without an environmental permit.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement to complete 90 hours of unpaid work.
Snailum had a registered waste exemption for his land at School House Farm, which allowed him to conduct low-level waste activity at the site for construction purposes.
The court heard that between January and March 2020 excavation waste was transported from a construction site in Consett to Snailum’s land at School House Farm, Kiln Pit Hill, and illegally dumped.
An Environment Agency investigation found that over 5,000 tonnes of waste had been dumped at School House Farm – five times the 1,000 tonnes allowed under the exemption.
The Environment Agency said it was clear that the waste was being used to level land, which requires an environmental permit.
During his sentencing remarks, Judge Joanne Kidd criticised Snailum for his “arrogance”, after hearing that he had twice taunted the Environment Agency officers.
When the officers spoke to Snailum about the illegal activity, he told them they should prosecute him as he would only receive a fine.
The judge was also critical of Snailum’s insistence on initially denying the charges and taking the case to the crown court in the face of “overwhelming evidence”.
Gary Wallace, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “Waste crime such as this has a negative impact on the environment and local communities and Snailum was warned he was breaching the law.
“His actions also undermined legitimate businesses as he made financial gains by not properly and legally disposing of the waste.
“I hope this case sends out the message to others that we take waste crime seriously and those involved can expect to be put before the courts for their actions.”
Jonathan Mann Developments, which owned land that was being developed for the construction of new care homes, was previously sentenced at Peterlee magistrates’ court on 23 April 2024 for their part in the case.
The company pleaded guilty to its involvement in the illegal waste activity and was ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £3,832.
Groundworks Direct Ltd excavated and loaded the waste material from the construction site onto wagons supplied by the hauliers and was ordered to pay a fine and costs of £5,000 in total.
G O’Brien & Sons Ltd, which collected the waste material and transported it to Snailum’s land, agreed to pay an enforcement undertaking of £5,000 to Durham Wildlife Trust to go towards environmental improvements and a further £1,600 in costs.
