Kent’s 'mega dumps' expose the limits of waste crime enforcement
Large illegal waste sites are thriving in Kent and no one seems able to stop them
Good afternoon, and welcome to your Monday Kent Current, slightly later than usual, for which apologies. It turns out I have managed to catch the flu that everyone seems to have at the moment, and while Kent’s politics will happily power through anything, the human body is rather less cooperative. Thank you for your patience.
We lead this week with a close look at Kent’s largest illegal waste sites and the growing sense that enforcement is failing to keep pace. Around Sittingbourne, dumping has continued despite repeated interventions, raising hard questions about whether the current system can stop organised waste crime before the damage becomes permanent.
Elsewhere, we cover the lifting of the boil notice in Tunbridge Wells, new funding for walking and cycling schemes, changes to train timetables, disputes over care charges, and the latest on planning decisions from Ashford to Maidstone. There’s also a packed diary of council meetings as authorities head into the final stretch before Christmas.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
Catch up
If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up.
A Swale Borough Council meeting was suspended after coordinated far-right activists disrupted a debate on becoming a District of Sanctuary. Councillors reported abuse, intimidation and damage to the building. We looked at what happened and why it matters.
Ed Jennings
For our weekend interview, we sat down with Catherine Southon, auctioneer and TV antiques expert from shows like Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. We spoke with her about working for Sotheby's, what items she doesn't sell, her advice for being on Bargain Hunt, and lots more.
Steven Keevil
Kent’s 'mega dumps' expose the limits of waste crime enforcement
Kent is once again at the centre of a national problem: large illegal waste sites that continue to operate long after regulators know about them. Around Sittingbourne, multiple dumping grounds are under investigation. Residents say they feel abandoned to cope with the impact. Those in power now openly question whether the state can stop organised waste crime before lasting damage is done.
This is no longer a story about isolated fly-tipping. It is about enforcement that moves too slowly, and about intervention that often comes only after the damage is already severe.
What’s happening
The Environment Agency has confirmed it is investigating an illegal waste site at Basser Hill near Sittingbourne, close to the long-running dumping ground at Raspberry Hill Farm, near Iwade. When the BBC visited Basser Hill earlier this month, waste activity appeared to be continuing. This was despite the agency saying it had attended the site on 24 November and instructed the landowner to stop accepting waste and clear what was already there.
Dumping has also continued at Raspberry Hill Farm more than a year after earlier BBC reporting. The Environment Agency says it has carried out site visits, drone flights and other activities to disrupt operations there. The Raspberry Hill Lane site has existed since at least 2020 and has expanded over time despite involvement from Kent County Council, Swale Borough Council, the Environment Agency, and the police.
Reporting from Iwade, Channel 4 News says people living near one of the known sites feel abandoned by the authorities and intimidated by those running the dump.
What the MP says
Raising the issue in Parliament, Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna described Raspberry Hill Lane as “one of these mega illegal dumps.” He said it had begun “metastasising, sprouting accessory dumps nearby” to evade enforcement.
McKenna said the dumping was damaging the countryside and placing pressure on legitimate waste businesses in his constituency, including Countrystyle, MVV and DS Smith. He asked ministers how they planned not only to increase resources for the Environment Agency and the police, but to improve the skills and cross-agency working needed to tackle what he described as serious organised crime.
The national context
The Kent sites sit within a wider national debate about waste crime enforcement. A House of Lords committee has criticised the Environment Agency for failing to shut down illegal waste sites quickly enough, and the environment secretary is due to respond to its report.
The Guardian has described waste crime as the “new narcotics”, reporting that multiple large illegal dumps known to the Environment Agency remain uncleared across the country. It says at least one large site in the Sittingbourne area is among those still receiving waste.
Case study: Hoad’s Wood
Kent has already seen the consequences of delayed enforcement at Hoad’s Wood near Ashford. In June 2025, the Environment Agency began removing more than 30,000 tonnes of illegally dumped household and construction waste from the protected SSSI ancient woodland. The operation is expected to take more than a year and require around 2,000 lorry loads.
The BBC reports the waste was dumped by criminal gangs over a six-month period in 2023. A court order to close the site entrance was only obtained in January 2024. From a campaigning perspective, Kent Wildlife Trust argues the episode showed how responsibility was passed between agencies while dumping continued. It has also cited FOI material suggesting that penalties for similar offences have historically been small relative to clean-up costs.
By the numbers
The Environment Agency says that last year it stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites, secured 13 prosecutions, and achieved £133,000 in fines, alongside six custodial sentences. Ministers say funding for the agency’s waste crime work has been increased by 50% to £15.6m, alongside reforms including digital waste tracking and tighter controls on waste carriers and brokers.
What to watch
The direction of policy is clear. The unresolved question is whether it will change what happens on the ground.
For communities like Iwade, the issue is simple: whether enforcement can move quickly enough to stop active dumping, or whether the next major clean-up is already taking shape in plain sight.
Three big stories
1️⃣ Francis Beckett has written a blistering piece on the state of Reform at Kent County Council for The New World. He speaks with several of the recently expelled councillors in the group, who make extraordinary accusations about the leadership's actions.
2️⃣ An excellent on-the-ground summary of the state of things in Tunbridge Wells during the water crisis by Robert Taylor in The Spectator. He sets out the complete breakdown in trust between local residents and South East Water in the town.
3️⃣ The first wild bison born in Kent for thousands of years has been born in Blean, near Canterbury, three years after the herd was introduced into the wild at the site.
In brief
🚰 The boil notice for water in Tunbridge Wells has finally been lifted by South East Water, bringing to an end a sorry saga that has blighted the two over the past couple of weeks.
🧑🦼 Thousands of disabled service-users in Kent could have been overpaying for their care after a court ruled that Kent County Council hadn't informed users of the rules around the scheme.
🚲 Nearly £26m has been awarded to Kent County Council and £1.7m to Medway Council by the government to deliver more cycling and walking schemes.
🚘 Kent County Council are consulting on plans to introduce camera enforcement for Moving Traffic Offences at twelve yellow box junctions.
🚄 Southeastern has launched a new timetable, which includes more high-speed trains between Faversham and St Pancras, and more carriages on some of the busiest routes.
🏗️ Hundreds of brand new flats in Ashford are sitting abandoned after the builder collapsed into administration.
🏪 Residents of an isolated new-build estate near Ashford will remain without a shop after Ashford Borough Council refused plans to open one.
👮 Ramsgate Town Council has hired private security to patrol the town centre in an effort to make it feel safer.
🏊 Deal's traditional Boxing Day swim has been cancelled after organisers didn't have enough time to put the event together following an all-clear on water quality at the beach.
⛪ The Church of England is reviewing a complaint against the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the mishandling of an abuse complaint against a priest.
🧖🏻 Men at a new David Lloyd Club in Herne Bay are demanding a discount on their memberships after two hours each week in the spa were made available exclusively to women.
🎸 Music venue Where Else? in Margate is trying to raise £40,000 in crowdfunding to stay open.
🏏 Michael Wilshaw has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of Kent Cricket.
🎥 Scenes from The Family Plan 2, a recently released film on Apple TV starring Marky Mark Wahlberg, were filmed in Faversham.
Council matters
Meetings this week:
- Medway: Cabinet gathers on Tuesday to discuss introducing restrictions on HMOs, selling off some toilets, bringing some outsourced work back in-house, and more.
- Gravesham: Council meets to discuss a new council tax reduction scheme and changes to the constitution on Tuesday.
- Medway: Planning Committee meets on Wednesday to decide on an 800 home development north of Strood, which the developer is already planning to appeal, given the council has taken too long to make up its mind.
- Ashford: Planning Committee gets together on Wednesday to decide on 18 new homes, a big wheel at Ashford Designer Outlet, loosening the criteria for businesses at Elwick Place, and more.
- Kent: County Council meets on Thursday for the final time this year, where it will consider reducing committee scrutiny, introducing political assistants, and a Lib Dem motion on the Tunbridge Wells water issues.
- Dover: Planning Committee meets on Thursday to decide on several housing applications, totally around 100 homes across the district.
- Maidstone: Planning Committee will decide on a 100 home development in Lenham, an 85 home development in Coxheath, a 42 home development in Harrietsham, and more.
Events this week
🎸 Fri 19 Dec - Skep Wax Christmas Party // Kent record label show featuring Swansea Sound, The Gentle Spring, and Sassyhiya raising money for community projects in Thanet. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £17.
Footnotes
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