The plot of land in New Road, Belton, has become the focus of a probe by the Environment Agency and Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) following complaints raised in 2024.

A landowner, a suspected operator and a company identified as taking waste onto the land have all been issued 'cease and desist' letters.

The entrance to the site from New Road, Belton (Image: Newsquest)

Locals have reported seeing black smoke periodically over the past two years, coming from large fires which are set in the evenings.

Images obtained by this newspaper show waste being dumped on the land and a large amount of material on fire.

An image from March 2024 captures waste being dumped on land in New Road, Belton (Image: Supplied)

Fire crews have attended some of the fires, locals have said.

Image captured in July 2024 shows a large amount of waste on the land in Belton beginning to smoke (Image: Supplied)

An image captured moments later in July 2024, showing the mound of waste in Belton on fire (Image: Supplied)

On a recent visit to the site a mound of rubbish, including wooden boards, could be seen.

But during another visit this week, what appeared to be burnt remains of waste were located in the same area.

The land and 'agricultural store' off New Road in Belton, pictured in February. A pile of waste can be seen to the left rear of the site (Image: Newsquest)

The land in Belton, with what appears to be the remains of burnt waste, taken in March (Image: Newsquest)

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said: “We have issued ‘Cease & Desist’ letters to the landowner, suspected operator and a company identified as taking waste onto the land.

"Where possible, we work with partners to disrupt and tackle illegal waste activities and in this case, HMRC have been made aware of activities in Belton."

A GYBC spokesman added: ‘’The Environment Agency was originally investigating illegal waste dumping at a location in Belton.

"However, the council took over the investigation and monitoring of the site a year ago.

"Since then, activity at the site has been limited but officers continue to closely monitor the situation. The council is speaking with a number of individuals and there is an ongoing investigation into illegal waste disposal at the site.’’

A spokeswoman for the HMRC said it can neither confirm nor deny it is investigating.

A pair of workers at a caravan park nearby said they periodically see thick black smoke coming from the direction of the land off New Road.

The land and 'agricultural store' off New Road in Belton, pictured this month (Image: Newsquest)

Another man, who lives in the village, said he had seen fires being started in the evenings.

"I don't know what they are burning but it could be all sorts. The fire brigade has been involved on some occasions," he said.

It is currently not clear who owns the land or the companies involved.

A planning application for the site, to build an agricultural store, was made by Panos Christophi in 2020.

Mr Christophi is a well-known businessman and property developer in the area who previously was the owner and director of GC Hotels, which ran Gorleston's Cliff Hotel until the company folded in 2023.

He said he does not own the land or know who does, and claims that he made the application on behalf of someone else.

The Union Building in Rose Lane, Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

The application was made for EnvisionCAD Ltd, a company registered to the Union Building in Rose Lane in Norwich.

Mr Christophi is not named as a director of this company, but he has been named as a director for companies registered to the same address.

The current director of EnvisionCAD Ltd is James Moy. Attempts have been made to contact Mr Moy.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman urged people to make contact if they witness suspected waste crimes.

She said: “Waste criminals scar our environment and communities. Working with local councils and the police, we are committed to stopping them.

 “We urge anyone who suspects waste crime activities may be taking place to contact our 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 807060 or report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.” 

© Eastern Daily Press