GWYNEDD Council has been fined more than £70,000 after breaching environmental regulations at its Tywyn depot.

The cash-strapped council’s “negligence” in its waste management at the highways and municipal depot in Tywyn led a judge to fine the authority £73,400.

Gwynedd Council pleaded guilty to two failures to comply with its duties under environmental regulations and must also pay £3,900 costs.

A company which removed waste from the Tywyn site, TD Plant Hire and Haulage, was also fined £14,200, with £1,740 costs, after admitting three offences under the Environmental Protection Act including keeping controlled waste – construction and demolition waste – at Gellilydan, Blaenau Ffestiniog, in a manner likely to cause pollution.

Judge Jones said the council was accused of operating the Tywyn site unlawfully and hadn’t adhered to controls including on the amount of waste stored. He said there were “substantial deficiencies in the management system” although the environmental impact at Tywyn was low.

“I do hope all council officers, from the chief officers to those working in the depots, are more aware of their duties to ensure the authority complies with their statutory commitments and that this is an exception,” the judge said.

Read the full story in today’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News