Company fined £110,000 after breaching conditions of environmental permit at Acton concrete plant
HANSON have been fined more than £110,000 for environmental offences at their ready-mixed concrete plant in Horn Lane, Acton, west London.
Hanson Quarry Products Europe Ltd, trading as Hanson Concrete, were sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 2 February 2016 having previously pleaded guilty to five offences between May 2014 and April 2015.
As well as the fine of £110,600, the company was also ordered pay the council’s costs of £9,286 plus a victim surcharge of £120.
In 2011 Hanson invested in a £1.3 million upgrade to the Acton concrete plant, to help meet increasing demand in London, driven by large projects such as Crossrail. Permission to re-open the upgraded site came with strict controls in place to cut pollution and limit any impact on Acton residents.
However, on a number of occasions Ealing Council found that Hanson Concrete were 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.
Councillor Julian Bell, leader of the council, said: ‘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 had they taken appropriate measures in the first instance they would have avoided this action and improved air quality for local people sooner.’
The company confirmed that a number of changes had now been made to improve environmental management at the site, including new wheel-washing equipment and an additional pollution monitor.
