A huge illegal waste site that keeps growing and spoiling a beauty spot landscape is being investigated by the Environment Agency.
Basser Hill, near Sittingbourne in Kent, has joined a growing number of massive dumping grounds harming nature and the countryside.
The EA has now launched an inquiry into the site which is filled with mixed waste, construction debris and potentially hazardous materials.
The area is just two miles away from a tip at Raspberry Hill Park Farm.
Other nearby dumping areas include Brambletree Wharf in Medway and sites around Ashford and Hoads Wood.
The House of Lords’ Environment and Climate Change Committee recently released a report expressing extreme concern over the scope of illegal waste sites – which included many not previously disclosed.
Committee chair Baroness Sheehan said she was ‘alarmed’ the EA had not informed them about the ‘mountain’ of waste sites in Kidlington in Oxfordshire, in Wigan and in Worcestershire.
The EA has dismissed the claims as ‘inaccurate’ and said it ‘responded comprehensively’ to the questions it was asked, according to the BBC.
Basser Hill, near Sittingbourne in Kent, has joined a growing number of massive dumping grounds harming nature and the countryside
A dump site at Basser Hill near Sittingbourne in Kent is being investigated by officials
But locals have been left ‘furious’ and ‘devastated’ by the continuous appearance of illegal waste sites.
Many have called the dumping ‘disgusting’, and some have reported black smoke burning from the Basser Hill site ‘for years’.
A volunteer at nearby Sittingbourne animal sanctuary The Happy Pants Ranch said: ‘I have seen black smoke – the colour of burning – coming from the hill late at night in the summer time.’
Amey, who runs the sanctuary, took to social media and wrote: ‘Another huge illegal waste dumping ground near the sanctuary that is STILL being tipped at!
‘And they say we are damaging the natural habitat? Picking on easy targets it seems. They’ve got their focus all wrong that’s for sure.’
Another local said: ‘The MP has been contacted before about this – but things seem to be getting worse!’
Kevin McKenna, Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, told the BBC that sites were not only appearing in Kent but all across the country.
He said: ‘This is happening all over. The Government has given more money to the EA specifically to tackle this, but we clearly need to do more.
Kent locals have been left ‘furious’ and ‘devastated’ by the appearance of illegal waste sites
Many have called the dumping ‘disgusting’ and some have reported black smoke burning from the Basser Hill site ‘for years’
‘It really is a disgrace on the nation.’
The EA confirmed Basser Hill site as one illegal waste site it was investigating.
Specialist environmental crime officers visited the site on November 24 and met the landowner, who was instructed to stop accepting waste and to clear the illegally deposited waste on site.
It comes after locals in Ashford, Kent, were outraged after Hoad’s Wood was buried under 30,000 tonnes of household and construction waste in February.
Pictures showed rubbish piled 15ft high in some parts of the beauty spot which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) due to the range of birds, insects, and trees that call it home.
A criminal investigation was opened by the EA and three men were arrested in connection and interviewed by Kent Police.
An EA spokesperson has now said: ‘Our investigation to bring the shameless people who dumped waste at Hoad’s Wood and other sites in Kent before a court continues.
‘The arrests in February remain very much part of that work. Specialist environmental crime officers are working flat out to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Environment Agency has confirmed Basser Hill site as one illegal waste site being probed
Specialist environmental crime officers visited the site on November 24
Locals in Ashford, Kent, were outraged in February 2025 after Hoad’s Wood was buried under 30,000 tonnes of household and construction waste
Pictures showed the rubbish piled 15ft high in some parts of the beauty spot
‘We share the public’s anger on waste crime. Beautiful woodland spoiled by people who don’t care about that.
‘It’s just about making money. We will seek to claim any money back from the offenders.
‘We work with various agencies on combatting waste crime, but we also welcome any information that helps catch and convict the people behind it.
‘All reports will be treated in confidence. The public can either call the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline, 0800 807060, or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111.’
The EA says it delivered on a commitment to tackle waste crime in the country by stopping 743 illegal waste sites – securing 13 prosecutions against waste criminals resulting in £133,000-worth of fines and six custodial sentences and accepting 51 enforcement undertakings valued at £7.8million.
The agency also highlighted its support for the Government’s waste reforms to prevent crime including the introduction of digital waste tracking, tighter controls on waste carriers and brokers and use of waste exemptions registration.
The latter uses various tactics to tackle waste crime, including covert operations, drone cameras, road stops and site visits.
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