The Environment Agency has escalated enforcement at Old Swarland, Northumberland, after reports of waste dumping and fires on the land. In its 29 April 2026 statement, the agency said Bedlington Magistrates' Court made a restriction order on Monday 27 April 2026 prohibiting further waste imports for six months, with concrete blocks also placed to stop vehicles entering the site. The agency said the activity had affected the local community and confirmed that its investigation is continuing. (gov.uk)
The move followed a restriction notice served on Friday 24 April 2026. Under the Waste Enforcement (England and Wales) Regulations 2018, that notice can operate only for a short period and, if the regulator wants the controls to continue, the case must go promptly before magistrates. In practical terms, the notice is the emergency pause; the restriction order is the longer court-backed control, and the legislation caps that order at six months at a time. (gov.uk)
The court's power is designed for higher-risk cases. The 2018 regulations allow a restriction order where waste activity creates a risk of serious pollution or serious harm to human health, or where relevant waste offences or permit breaches have already caused pollution or harm. The order can prohibit access to the land and the importation of waste, and the legislation allows the Environment Agency to secure the premises against breach. Failure to comply is itself an offence. (legislation.gov.uk)
Gary Wallace, the Environment Agency's Area Environment Manager, said the site had been shut promptly after reports of illegal waste activity and said waste crime harms communities, the environment, landowners and legitimate businesses. The official statement therefore presents Old Swarland not only as a local nuisance case but as an example of targeted environmental enforcement intended to prevent further harm while evidence-gathering continues. (gov.uk)
The wider backdrop is the government's Waste Crime Action Plan, published on 19 March 2026 and updated on 20 March 2026. Defra and the Environment Agency said they would use restriction notices more readily, intervene earlier on larger sites and support enforcement with an additional £45 million over three years. The action plan also states that the Environment Agency stopped illegal waste activity at 1,205 sites between July 2024 and the end of 2025, with 122 prosecutions over the same period. (gov.uk)
Old Swarland also has recent enforcement history. In a separate Environment Agency case published on 22 December 2025, Dominic Allan, 30, of Old Swarland, was given a 23-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months after admitting two offences of operating an illegal waste site at Aln View. The agency said he was ordered to complete 16 days of rehabilitation activity, pay £3,154 in costs and clear remaining waste by 30 June 2026. (gov.uk)
For residents, the immediate effect of the present order is limited but significant: it is meant to stop more waste arriving and restrict access while the investigation continues. It does not by itself remove the waste or conclude any criminal proceedings, but it gives the regulator a legally enforceable means of holding the site in place. For operators and landowners more broadly, the case is a reminder that most waste storage, treatment and disposal activity requires the correct environmental permit or a registered exemption before it can lawfully take place. (gov.uk)