Hanson's hit for over £100,000 for environmental offences

Hanson Concrete, the UK’s largest supplier of ready-mixed concrete, based in Horn Lane Acton has been fined £110,600 for environmental offences.

Hanson Quarry Products Europe Limited, trading as Hanson Concrete, was sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 2 February having previously pleaded guilty to five offences carried out between May 2014 and April 2015. As well as the hefty fine, they must also pay the council’s costs of £9,286 plus a victim surcharge of £120.

Hanson Concrete manufactures and distributes ready-mixed concrete from their site in Horn Lane, Acton and have long been the source of local unhappiness.

They have operated from Horn Lane for 50 years, but in 2010 demolished their old site that included a wheel washing facility for lorries. In 2011 they were given permission to re-open and issued with an environmental permit, which they required in order to operate, but with strict controls in place to cut pollution and limit the impact on Acton residents.

These conditions include a requirement that no visible dust is emitted from the site, that spillages are cleaned immediately, that no waste is spilled in the local area and that lorry wheels are cleaned before they leave the site to make sure that dust and pollutants aren’t carried into the local area.

Council officers visited the site in 2013 after they measured increases in particulate (air pollution) nearby and residents started to complain. They found on a number of occasions that Hanson Concrete was breaking the conditions of their environmental permit relating to dust emission, spillages, storage of waste and inadequate maintenance of the site. The company also breached an enforcement notice in April 2015 that required it to clean lorry wheels.

Hanson’s continued failure to comply with council demands for them to operate legally and responsibly ultimately led to the prosecution.

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of the council, said: “This judgement is a great result for local people and for our officers. It sends out a clear message that Ealing Council takes any environmental breaches very seriously and we will pursue companies that fail to operate responsibly.

“Horn Lane is a residential area and all of the companies around there, including Hanson Concrete, have a duty towards the families that live nearby. Hanson Concrete pleaded guilty to these charges, but if they had taken appropriate measures in the first instance they would have avoided this action and improved air quality for local people sooner.”

Through investment, the company has now made a number of changes to better manage the site, including new wheel washing equipment and an additional pollution monitor. As a result of the enforcement process they have also established a stronger working relationship with council officers, who will continue to carry out further monitoring.

Anyone with concerns or information about environmental breaches in the borough should email pollutioncontrol@ealing.gov.uk

10th February 2016