As the first lorries moved in on Bromley’s 40ft-high rubbish dump Waste4Fuel, a question mark over its future has been raised.

Bromley Council became the official landowner of the abandoned recycling centre in St Paul’s Cray on September 19, but it is yet to confirm its long-term design.

The first truck, containing about 15 tonnes of waste, left the site in Cornwall Drive yesterday afternoon (November 1).

News Shopper:
London Fire Brigade has been repeatedly called out to Waste4Fuel to deal with blazes

Over the next 20 weeks more than 18,000 tonnes of trash is being removed by the council’s waste and recycling partner Veolia, with trucks working from Monday to Saturday.

The works will be closely monitored by the Environment Agency (EA) throughout the process, the council has confirmed.

Bromley Council's leader Stephen Carr, said: “The future of the actual land is not clear but what we can be absolutely certain about is that it will not be used like this again.

“What we want to see is something that will ultimately support the local green space and any proposal will involve consultation with local residents and the wider community.”


The first of the lorries rolled out of Cornwall Drive

But John Watkins, of Sevenoaks Way, told News Shopper it was “too early to say” how the site will look.

“There will be site establishment for a couple of weeks,” he said, “The impact will be noticed after that.”

The council confirmed that due to complicated permission rights the takeover of the land wasn’t straightforward.

Its tenants, Waste4Fuel Ltd., dissolved some years ago leaving the site in disrepair. 

The EA told News Shopper it is still pursuing the former owners of the site through the courts but could not elaborate on its progress.

One of the former landowners, Genevieve Foster, is glad to see that action has finally started but wants more to be done. 

Speaking to News Shopper she said: "I'm delighted for the residents but still feel very bitterly dissappointed in the EA's seeming unwillingness to persevere with bringing to justice those involved who are still out there ruining other people's lives."

News Shopper:
It is believed that around 80 tonnes of waste was removed from Waste4Fuel yesterday (November 1)

The EA and Bromley Council set aside £2.4m and £300,000 respectively to purchase and clear the vermin-infested dump.

Last year the London Fire Brigade was called out more than 160 times to deal with blazes at the mountain of rubbish.

Figures obtained by News Shopper showed that between 2012 until August 2015 the London Fire Brigade (LFB) spent £914,000 dealing with another 233 incidents at the heap.

The borough commander for the LFB, Graham Coles, said: “The clearance is great news for the local community and also good news for the brigade.

“Not only are these fires a significant drain on our time and resources but they, along with the site generally, have caused considerable disruption to people living and working in the area.”

If you’ve been affected by the waste and want to have your say email james.parsons@london.newsquest.co.uk