SCRAP DEALER HEAVILY FINED FOR CAUSING DAMAGE TO HABITAT PRECIOUS TO SONGBIRDS

Leafy site is home to unusual songbirds and wildflowers

A HAMPSHIRE  landowner has been heavily hit in the pocket after running an illegal scrap metal dealership on part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Odiham Common with Bagwell Green and Shaw is a blend of ancient woodland and pasture,  rich in wildlife including birds such as   woodcock and wood warbler. 

Having bought land on the site five years ago, Christopher Ball failed to notify Natural England of his intention to set up a business that posed a risk to  the environment and its birds and plants. 

At Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, he was  fined £3,600  after pleading guilty to conducting unauthorised operations likely to damage the site.

As well as receiving the fine, Christopher Ball, trading as C Ball and Sons, was also ordered to pay £30,000 in costs.

The court heard that site inspections had revealed that vehicles, vehicle parts and tyres, construction waste, pallets, felled branches and a bonfire site were all on the site. Vehicle fluids were leaking into the soil. 

Natural England has since taken action to clear the site.

The SSSI, which is located between Basingstoke and Aldershot, comprises nearly 130 hectares of wood pasture, rare grassland habitats, meadows and common land at the junction of the London Clay, Plateau Gravel and Lower Bagshot Beds on the edge of the Thames Basin. 

The Common was formerly used by Edward the Confessor as a hunting ground before being developed into the land which is seen today, predominantly oak trees, but with isolated patches of meadow.

The site is home to 39 ancient woodland species such as woodruff, early-purple orchid, wood spurge and Solomon’s-seal, as well as nationally rare deadwood invertebrates, reptiles and birds.

Andrew Smith, Manager for Natural England’s Thames Solent Area said: "It is alarming that a landowner should show such complete disregard for a protected site in their care.

" I am pleased that this responsibility has been recognised by the court. 

"When we find cases of damage, such as this, in some of England’s most important and precious countryside, we will take enforcement action and, if necessary, prosecute those responsible. 

"We take our role as a regulator seriously. 

"Our aim now is to work with the owner to re-establish the site and avoid damage to the SSSI in future."

As the owner and occupier of part of the SSSI, Mr Ball is required by law to obtain Natural England’s consent for “operations likely to damage the special interest” of the site. 

This includes storing or dumping materials or using vehicles on the SSSI that could cause harm.

Shortly after Mr Ball came into ownership of the land in 2014, Natural England was notified that spoil had been dumped on the site and trees had been cut down. 

This spoil was cleared from the site in response to an Enforcement Notice issued by Hart District Council in September 2014.

In May 2017 Natural England were informed that the site was now being used to store truck cabs and car chassis, alongside the dumping of other miscellaneous items such as tyres and vehicle exhausts. 

This led to a sustained intervention by various organisations, including Hart District Council, Hampshire Constabulary and Natural England to bring harmful actions on the site to an end. 

Mr Ball failed to respond to numerous warnings or to cooperate. 

Mr Ball refused the attempts of Natural England and Hart District Council to arrange for the site to be cleared and would not engage in resolving the situation, which led to an application for a closure order, which was granted in April 2019.