Prosecution unfair claims businessman

Prosecution unfair claims businessman

11 January 2012 - by JOANNE FLEMING

A KILLYLEAGH man at the centre of an illegal dumping controversy has claimed he has been made a scapegoat.

Contractor, Elvis Kirk, was recently convicted of illegally dumping waste on the outskirts of Downpatrick and fined £1,500. The case attracted major publicity because the land belonged to former Ulster Farmers Union President, Graham Furey, who was fined £20,000.

Mr. Kirk, of Kirk Contracts, said he was wrong to deposit any waste on the land at Ballyhornan Road. However, he claimed the waste was not hazardous, nowhere near the 1,900 tonnes described by the authorities and the majority was dumped before waste management law changed in 2003.

He also claimed some of the offending material was waiting to be transferred to another site.

“We were made examples of, being the first case under the new Assembly administration,” he said. “I have since received numerous phone calls from other contractors and builders concerned about the law on disposing of builders waste. I have been recycling waste since 2005 and taking the right avenues to dispose of it.”

Mr. Kirk said that from 1999 to 2000 and in 2002 he deposited an amount of rubble on to Mr. Furey’s land from small demolished buildings on the Downshire Hospital site.

“The tonnage would have been approximately 250 tonnes,” he said. “We must emphasise that we have old photographs and measurements of these buildings.

“The authorities referred to deposits in 2004 and 2006, which did not occur.”

Mr. Kirk accepted dumping in 2007 but explained access problems at the Downshire site meant he had to remove some material, including a sports pavilion, by a small dump truck. This was taken temporarily to the Ballyhornan Road land where lorries could be loaded for transportation elsewhere.

Referring to lockers and barrels found by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) on the Mr. Furey’s land, he said the barrels filled with concrete had been used for road closures and fencing around the hospital site, and neither had been dumped in a lake as claimed in court.

“These barrels were viewed on site prior to removal to our yard where they remain,” he said. “Any waste deposited on the site was non-hazardous and was approximately 100 metres from any lake or pond. The lockers were removed to a licensed scrap yard and documentary evidence produced.”

He said oil found at the scene amounted to two thirds of a pint and was mineral oil from a hospital bed which was not buried and being stored on the site.

Mr. Kirk also believes another contractor may have been responsible for dumping some of the waste found at the site without Mr. Furey’s knowledge.

In 2009 Mr. Kirk opened a skip and recycling division of his business, which he says is monitored monthly by the NIEA.

“I have been in business for 32 years and in that time have provided a great deal of employment in an area of high unemployment,” he said.

With Down Council due to meet shortly and discuss who is responsible for clearing the site, Mr. Kirk said he was “very, very happy” to meet with local councillors.