THE occupier of the Bradford site of a major tyre fire is to face trial later this year accused of failing to remove controlled waste from the land.

The Environment Agency is prosecuting Equalityre and its director Stuart Bedford over its Spring Mill Street operation, where a fire broke out in November 2020.

The blaze involved hundreds of thousands of tyres burning for days and at its height up to 100 firefighters were at the scene. It took a week before it was completely extinguished.

The firm and Mr Bedford, of Fairfax Avenue, Harrogate, are both charged with failing to comply with a notice dating back to the month before the fire broke out by failing to remove controlled waste from the former go-karting track site.

The case went before Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court recently and not guilty pleas were entered to both charges.

A trial date was set for September 1, which will be heard at the same court.

In addition Equalityre, which is headquartered at Magna Business Park in Rotherham, and its director Stuart Bedford, face similar charges in relation to another of the firm's sites, this time at Wright Business Park in Doncaster.

They are accused of failing to comply with a notice from December 2020 by failing to remove controlled waste from the site.

Not guilty pleas were entered at the hearing at Doncaster Justice Centre North and the case was adjourned to tie in the with trial in Bradford in September.

Officers at the Environment Agency had previously confirmed to the Telegraph & Argus that they launched an investigation into the suspected illegal storage of waste tyres at the old go-karting site near Manchester Road the summer before the fire broke out after receiving complaints.

They visited the site and issued a first enforcement notice a month before the November blaze broke out last year.

After the fire the Environment Agency then issued a second enforcement notice, this time on the land owner, ordering the waste be removed from the site.

Three people arrested in connection with the fire were later released without charge.

At the time police said its investigation had progressed as far as it could.

Following the Spring Mill Street fire, the Environment Agency has conducted a review of high risk waste sites across the county to ensure operators are compliant with their environmental obligations and to guard against the possibility of a fire breaking out.

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