The council and Environment Agency spent nine months clearing an alleged illegal waste site on Progress Road, Eastwood. A prosecution reaches Southend Magistrates' Court on 17 December.
An alleged illegal waste site on Progress Road in Eastwood has been cleared, secured and restored, nine months after planning enforcement officers opened an investigation into it.
Southend-on-Sea City Council said the land was cleared in July 2026. A prosecution brought by the Environment Agency reaches Southend Magistrates’ Court for a first hearing at 10am on 17 December 2026 (Southend-on-Sea City Council).
The case has not been heard. Nothing has been proved against anyone, and the defendants are entitled to contest it.
What the council says happened
The council’s account sets out a nine-month sequence:
- November 2025: planning enforcement officers opened an investigation into the unauthorised use of the land as an alleged illegal waste site.
- The council and the Environment Agency worked to stop further waste being brought onto the site. Planning Enforcement, Community Safety, Highways and Regulatory Services were all involved.
- Barriers were installed. When they were removed, the council paid for 24-hour security to hold the site while a longer-term answer was worked out.
- The Environment Agency served a statutory notice requiring the waste to be taken away, and officers kept monitoring the site.
- July 2026: a significant amount of waste was removed and the land was cleared, secured and restored.
Councillor Kevin Robinson, cabinet member for planning, property and governance, said the outcome “has resolved a significant environmental issue” and that achieving it “required sustained effort from council officers and close partnership working with the Environment Agency and other agencies over many months”.
Lesley Robertson, Environment Agency enforcement team leader, said: “Illegal waste activity can pose risks to communities and the environment.” She said the joint work “shows the value of organisations working together to tackle complex environmental issues”.
The council has published before-and-after photographs of the site on its Flickr account.
What the company register adds
The council names the alleged occupier of the land as ESG Environmental Ltd. A director is charged alongside the company. We are not naming the individual, because the case has not been heard.
The company’s own Companies House record fills in part of the picture, and it is not what the name suggests. ESG Environmental Ltd, company number 15323813, was incorporated on 3 December 2023 under a different name entirely (Companies House).
| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| Belvedere Commercial Limited | 3 December 2023 to 2 October 2024 |
| JP Scaffolding Hire and Sales Ltd | 2 October 2024 to 24 September 2025 |
| ESG Environmental Ltd | since 24 September 2025 |
Two other entries in the file are worth noting.
First, the registered activity. The company’s only SIC code is 43999, “other specialised construction activities not elsewhere classified”. Nothing on the register describes it as a waste business.
Second, the address. On 13 March 2026 the company moved its registered office to 30 Progress Road, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 5LE, the road the council was by then already four months into investigating (filing history). Before that it had been registered in Newport, south Wales.
The company remains listed as active. Its accounts for the year to 31 December 2025 are due by 30 September 2026, and its confirmation statement by 15 October.
Why Progress Road
Progress Road runs north from Rayleigh Road in Eastwood, up the western edge of the city, and it is one of Southend’s main industrial and business-park streets. It sits close to the A127 and the airport, on the boundary with Rochford.
That position is the point. A road of yards and units on the edge of the built-up area, with easy access to a trunk road, is the kind of place where unauthorised tipping is quietest and quickest. It is also, at the moment, a signed diversion route for the Cadent gas works closing Rayleigh Road northbound at the A127, which we cover in our Southend roadworks and travel page.
What it means for you
- The site itself is cleared. The council says the waste was removed and the land restored in July 2026, so there is nothing live to report to the council at that location.
- The bill. The council has not published what the 24-hour security or the officer time cost. That matters in a year when its own finance report has flagged a forecast overspend, which we covered in Southend’s budget overspend.
- Reporting fly-tipping. If you see waste being dumped on private land, the council’s planning enforcement team handles unauthorised use of land, and the Environment Agency handles large-scale or hazardous waste. Report it while it is happening, with a date, a time and a location; that is what made this case work.
- Nothing is proved. The first hearing is on 17 December 2026. We will report what the court decides, and not before.
Sources
- Southend-on-Sea City Council: alleged illegal waste site at Progress Road cleared and restored following joint action, published 19 August 2026
- Companies House: ESG Environmental Ltd, company 15323813 and its filing history
- Southend-on-Sea City Council traffic order: Rayleigh Road, Brooklands Avenue and Snakes Lane, for the Progress Road diversion route
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