Stables operator is fined after dumping waste on science land

A stables operator has been ordered by a court to pay more than £12,000 in fines and costs for breaching County Council orders about illegal waste tipping.
Rhencullen Farm tipped waste materialRhencullen Farm tipped waste material
Rhencullen Farm tipped waste material

Dean Prater, who breeds horses and runs stables at Rhencullen Farm near Wendover, imported and tipped a large volume of waste material - believed to be as much as 20,000 tonnes - to level a steep slope to create extra grazing land next door to Bradnidge Wood, part of Dancersend Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

He didn’t have planning permission, so Bucks County Council served him with notices to stop tipping and to remove what had already been tipped. He failed to comply.

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Wycombe magistrates on Tuesday 9 February fined Mr Prater £1,760 for disobeying the orders, and ordered him to pay a total of £10,699.60 in costs and victim surcharge.

Warren Whyte, cabinet member for environment and planning, said: “I’m delighted with the court’s sentence, which gives a clear message that we will not tolerate breaches of planning regulations, all the more important where it threatens contamination or damage to our special environment, wildlife and woodland.

“The successful prosecution is due in no small measure to our enforcement officer’s thorough investigation.”