Unauthorised activity on the site in Stoney Castle, Pirbright has been happening since 1988. The site which is a special area of conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA) and a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) is unbelievably the current destination for the largest and longest illegal waste dump in Surrey. 

Guildford Borough Council (GBC) declared the site contaminated in 2020. The recent discovery of toxic waste leaking from the site has raised the priority to the level of an environmental emergency! GBC's enforcement team recently removed the occupiers from site, but the waste remains.

Mark Bray-Parry, the Guildford Green Party representative, has sent a proposal to GBC, Surrey County Council (SCC), and the Environment Agency (EA). The proposal would see GBC compulsory purchase the land and, in conjunction with the EA, remove the waste and decontaminate the land. To help GBC meet the costs of this, the EA would meet 90% of the costs. The remainder would be met by GBC. This proposal is based on a similar site where Bromley Borough Council formally agreed to a land acquisition proposal with the EA meeting 90% of the costs.

Mark said on putting forward the proposal: "The waste at Stoney Castle is a potential hazard to Pirbright residents. Even after the occupiers have been removed, it is essential that the waste is cleared and land decontaminated as a matter of urgency. The cost of doing so is quite clearly beyond that of a local authority, be it Guilford or Surrey. It is therefore obvious that a national agency such as the Environment Agency must step forward to support the clean-up costs as they have done at other sites. The compulsory purchase will allow Guildford to recover part of its costs through sale of the land after the site has been cleared."

We need your support to show GBC, SCC, and the EA that we are all behind this proposal.