IN the wake of a recent Thurrock Nub News report, the Environment Agency says it will be paying a visit to a controversial industrial site in the borough - to remind its operators of their responsibilities.

Last week we reported on an early morning blaze at the site, which Squibb later said was trees being burnt.

In the wake of that report local councillors Shane Hebb and Terry Piccolo again expressed their concern about events at the site and asked Thurrock Council to mount an investigation. The council has since said it is not its responsibility.

That put the spotlight on the Environment Agency and today (Tuesday, 26 January) a spokesperson said: "Squibb Group Limited hold an Environmental Permit for storing asbestos at the Stanhope Industrial Estate. They also have a D7 exemption registered which allows the burning of green waste produced on site.

"Following the last report of burning in September 2020, we visited the site and advice was given in relation to the burning of waste materials. No burning was taking place during the visit and the site was found to be meeting the requirements of its asbestos storage.

"As a result of this new information we will visit the site again to remind them of their responsibilities in relation to burning. If we find they are not meeting the requirements of the D7 exemption we will look to take further action.

"We encourage anyone who notices burning from the site to report it to our incident hotline on 0800 807060."

Thurrock Nub News first reported live from the site in September last year and featured a blaze. Squibb said it had been caused by illegal intruders onto the site.