Throw 'em In Jail: Why Brett Aggregate & Council Bosses Should Be Caged

In my previous post I revealed that  Thanet Council’s  Director of Environment, Mike Humber, has allowed Brett Aggregates via what is likely to be  an unlawful  “voluntary agreement”,  to continue to wash, crush and  grade aggregate at the Port of Ramsgate.

Brett’s do not have an environment permit to carry out this work and are therefore  in breach of section  12 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016  (EPR)  which says that:

12.—(1) A person must not, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit— (a)operate a regulated facility

Section 38 of the EPR says that:

 38.—(1) It is an offence for a person to (a) contravene regulation 12(1)

Section 39 of the EPR goes on to say  that;

 39.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person guilty of an offence under regulation 38(1), (2) or (3) is liable—

(a)on summary conviction (in a magistrates’ court) to a (unlimited) fine,   or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12  months or to both;

(b)on conviction on indictment (at a Crown Court) to a(unlimited)  fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both

So if there is any justice Bill  “Bully Boy”  Brett,  the boss of the Brett empire, should  be dragged  before the  beak and banged up in the slammer  for allowing one of his many companies to unlawfully carry out activities which have the potential to damage the health and wellbeing of Ramsgate residents.

But Bill Bully Boy Brett will not be languishing alone in his cell for too long.

Thanet Council’s  Director of Environment Mike Humber who authorized,  on behalf of the council,  Brett to continue to wash, crush and  grade aggregate at the  Port of Ramsgate,  without an environmental permit, might become Bill’s cell mate.

Mike Humber does not have the authority  to allow  and/ or  encourage Brett Aggregates  to break the law. This is made clear by section 38b of the EPR which states that 

38.—(1) It is an offence for a person to—(b) knowingly cause or knowingly permit the contravention of regulation 12(1)(a).

Section 41 of the EPR goes on to say.

Offences by bodies corporate (the council is a body corporate - my insertion)

41.—(1) If an offence committed under these Regulations by a body corporate is proved—

(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer, or (b)to be attributable to any neglect on the part of an officer,

the officer as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) If the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members (councillors my insertion), paragraph (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with the member's functions of management as if the member were a director of the body.

(3) In paragraph (1), “officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity

If it’s any consolation to Mike Humber he is unlikely to the only fall guy paying   for  council’s  unlawful action.

As section 41 of the EPR  indicates,  a councillor who’s functions include the  political management of the service where the lawbreaking takes place,  may also be prosecuted under the EPR.

In this case that would be,  the less than honest,  Councillor Steve Albon who is the cabinet portfolio holder for the Port of Ramsgate and who would have been personally  briefed by Mr. Humber about the “voluntary agreement” to allow Brett to  unlawfully wash crush and grade aggregate at the port.

Last but not least, the already over crowded prison cell might well have to accommodate a fourth old lag. This is likely to be TDCs Monitoring Officer (MO) Ingrid Brown.

The role of  the MO is to ensure the lawfulness and fairness of corporate decision‑making at the council. This includes advising  councillors and officers about whether their decisions are  likely to be unlawful or amount to maladministration.

The fact that Mr Humber went ahead with what appears to have been the  unlawful act of allowing Brett to wash crush and grade aggregate without an environmental permit,  suggests to me that either he didn’t seek the advice of the MO about the legality of his action,  or if he did, that she wrongfully  approved his action. I will be looking into this further .

Putting satire aside, I believe that Brett Aggregates and the council have worked together to knowingly  breach the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 and is so doing have put the health and safety of Ramsgate residents at risk.

There must be an urgent and independent enquiry into this matter and in the meantime the council has no choice but to order Brett Aggregates to cease the washing, crushing and grading of aggregate at the port until further notice.

I will be publishing a  follow up article about the missing environment permit next week which will include more revelations about wrong doing in high places.

If you have any information about  Brett Aggregates and the council’s dodgy dealing at the port please contact me on 07866588766 or email ianddriver@yahoo.co.uk in confidence.