A son and mother responsible for illegal activity involving up to 1,300 tonnes of waste at a site in Huddersfield, which then set on fire in 2016 causing significant risk to the environment, have been sentenced. Samuel Hunter, 31, of Dewsbury, and Jacinta Hunter, 59, of Dewsbury, were given a 24-month custodial sentence, and 12-month sentence respectively, suspended for two years. Samuel Hunter must undertake 300 hours of unpaid work, the maximum number of hours a court can order. Jacinta Hunter must undertake 80 hours of unpaid work. The two defendants, who were director and manager of Hunter Group (Yorkshire) Limited also known as Sam H Services Limited, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to charges of waste offences at a site in Queens Mill Road, Huddersfield, and were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court. They accepted they had kept waste which posed a fire risk in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm to human health. The company had premises at Scotland Yard, Queens Mill Road, Huddersfield, and held an environmental permit from the Environment Agency. Following site inspections by the Environment Agency in 2015 and 2016, the site was found to be repeatedly in breach of its permit, as huge piles of waste were found pushing against a perimeter fence which was broken in places. Shredded waste was found stored between a roofed area of the site and a wall, when it should have been in a building or held in bays. The Environment Agency ordered the waste be moved and the fences repaired, but return inspections found that no improvements had been made. Following continued breaches of the permit, and concerns over the waste falling through the fence and potentially polluting a river, two enforcement notices were issued. When advice had been given to make improvements, Samuel Hunter was verbally abusive to officers on more than one occasion. Environment Agency officers were concerned that rubbish including wood, rubble and scrap metal including a gas bottle was hanging over the wall against the damaged fencing towards the river. In one place where the boundary fence was completely missing, some waste had fallen into the river, so was at risk of causing pollution. West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service advised Samuel Hunter that the site was a fire risk and that he needed to introduce fire breaks between the waste piles. An Environment Agency officer estimated the volume of waste on site to be between 825 and 1383 tonnes. Disposal of this quantity of waste at landfill would cost between £98,880 – £165,912. The amount charged by the company for accepting the waste onto site was estimated to be £120 per tonne. In June 2016 another individual began running the company and site. The court then heard how on 18 August 2016 a fire broke out at the site and a large amount of runoff had accumulated behind the premises of a nearby glass factory from the firefighting activities. This was a major concern as it was about to overflow into the river or flood the building where the glass company had important compressor machinery. To avoid this, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service used a small pump to move the runoff onto the access road so it would flow into the sewer network. Later, Kirklees Council brought machinery onto site to move the waste around on the site to help the fire service put out the fire. The fire was still smouldering on the 30 August 2016. It took Kirklees Council till March 2017 to remove all the waste from the site to reduce the risk of ongoing fires. The total amount paid by Kirklees Council for clearance of the site amounted to £1,142,131. In sentencing, the Judge was satisfied both defendants had committed the offences deliberately with a flagrant disregard for the law which he described as a financial decision. Jacinta Hunter had followed Samuel Hunter’s lead as he was the controlling mind of Hunter Group (Yorkshire) Limited. He said Samuel Hunter should be ashamed of his behaviour when he described his interactions with Environment Agency officers to whom he had been foul and abusive. In mitigation, the defence said the Hunters were trying to act within the law and were not rogue operators. Jacinta Hunter said she hadn’t been given enough time to meet the deadlines to rectify issues at the site. Samuel Hunter maintained he had done everything he could. Ben Hocking, Yorkshire Environment Manager at the Environment Agency said: “The seriousness of this sentence sends out a message that waste crime will not be tolerated. “This case followed action from the Environment Agency with support from our colleagues at West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and Kirklees Council. Despite repeatedly being warned, waste was still brought onto site causing a risk to the environment and contributing to a fire which affected the surrounding community and businesses, and left authorities with significant clear up costs.”

Sheffield-headquartered Irwin Mitchell is investing in Scotland-based law firm Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, with the two firms working in collaboration to provide a full suite of legal and financial services operating out of more than 20 locations across England, Scotland, and Wales. The firms have complementary skills north of the border with Irwin Mitchell Scotland operating out of Glasgow predominantly in banking and finance and complex personal injury work, while Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie specialises in corporate, private client, property, and asset management. In England and Wales, Irwin Mitchell already provides a full suite of legal and financial services which will be opened up to Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie’s clients. The two firms have access to 200+ jurisdictions across the world via membership of several international law firm networks and through these networks have collaborated for a number of years. As part of the agreement, on completion Irwin Mitchell partners Bruce Macmillan, Craig Marshall and Mark Higgins will join the newly constituted Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie Management Board. Craig Marshall, Group Chief Operating Officer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The two firms are a great cultural fit and share a similar purpose, values, and future vision. We have ambitious plans for growth, and we are both focused on building on our client-centric approach, an excellent colleague experience and an ambition to become leading responsible businesses. “This strategic investment significantly expands our access to Scotland and Irwin Mitchell and Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie believe it will fundamentally enhance the service for current and future clients across the whole of the UK and internationally.” Fraser Gillies, managing partner at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, will continue to head up operations in Scotland. He said: “This is a landmark moment for our firm. We have expanded considerably over the past decade and this investment will supercharge our growth efforts and provide a clear route into England and Wales, while broadening the services we can offer our clients. “We share a similar approach, putting our clients and people at the heart of everything we do. We also share similar ambitions for the future, so we are proud to make history together and begin this exciting new chapter.” Both Irwin Mitchell and Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie have pursued strategic growth plans over the past decade with lateral hires and M&A activity used to grow their businesses in complementary areas and in order to adapt to their clients’ and the market’s needs. In the past 12 months Irwin Mitchell has also agreed deals to acquire asset management firms TWP Wealth and Andrews Gwynne. The firm has also opened new offices in Cardiff and Liverpool and recruited 18 new partners.

Events bring millions to Sheffield’s economy, generate community pride and support the wellbeing of residents, according to a new report from Sheffield City Council that looks at the impact of events on the city, including Tramlines. It’s estimated that Tramlines brings a £3.8 million boost to Sheffield’s economy annually. As well as the festival at Hillsborough Park, which was attended by more than 40,000 people, more than 40 city centre venues took part in The Fringe at Tramlines in 2023, with thousands of people enjoying a free family-friendly event on Devonshire Green during the Fringe. During September, the council’s Economic Development and Skills and Communities, Parks and Leisure Committees, will be discussing Tramlines festival, the benefits it brings to the city, the recovery of Hillsborough Park after this year’s wet weather and plans for future festivals. Councillor Martin Smith, Chair of the Economic Development and Skills Committee, said: “Tramlines is an incredible celebration of Sheffield’s musical heritage and emerging talent that attracts artists and fans from the city and beyond to enjoy a weekend of music and creativity. “As well as putting on an incredible show, both in the city centre and Hillsborough Park, both events provide a welcome boost to the local economy. Tramlines fans spend money on hotels, food and drink and transport, whilst the events provide opportunities for local suppliers, create jobs and work placement opportunities, and helps provide an income to support the running of the city’s parks.” Tramlines is a major event for Sheffield and has grown to be one of the biggest city-based festivals in the UK since it started in 2009. In that time, the festival has supported more than 200 local artists to play the festival, given 68 work placements to local students and raised £200,000 for local charities. Income generated from Tramlines has helped to fund improvements in Hillsborough Park including improvements to pathways. As well as economic benefits, hosting events in Sheffield parks helps bring social and health benefits to the city as well. Smaller, neighbourhood events bring communities together and encourage more people to visit their local green spaces, with income made from these events going back into supporting Sheffield’s parks, to ensure more neighbourhoods have access to green space. Fees from event organisers play an important role in helping the council to manage and maintain the more than 800 parks and green spaces in Sheffield. Income from fees contributes to maintaining and improving green spaces in the city. This includes sharing investment across parks which may be too small or unsuitable to host their own events but still bring a huge benefit to the community. Councillor Richard Williams, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee, said: “Sheffield is one of the greenest cities in the UK and we are proud to have so many green spaces for residents to enjoy. “The council’s budget has faced unprecedented cuts and there will be growing pressures in the years to come. Despite this, customer feedback shows an increase in satisfaction with the quality of Sheffield’s parks and academic research shows how important good quality green spaces are for residents’ wellbeing. Bringing events into our parks gives the council an opportunity to be more ambitious with Sheffield’s green spaces, improve parks for residents and unlock opportunities for local businesses.” In 2023, the weather throughout Tramlines was incredibly wet, with seven inches of rain falling across the weekend – more than double the average for the time of year. Whilst previous Tramlines festivals experienced some rainfall and the ground held up, this summer far more rain fell than was forecast. Despite preparing the ground before the festival and bringing in measures to protect the park during the event, the park was damaged and has required substantial repairs. Repairs have taken place during the summer and will be paid for by Tramlines. The park has reopened in sections. The café, multi-use games area, pump track and some grassed areas are now open to enjoy, whist Parkrun has also returned to the park. Councillor Richard Williams, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee, said: “Tramlines will remain at Hillsborough Park because it is the best venue for the festival in the city. The fee the festival pays to the council will continue to support maintenance and improvements to the park for the benefit of all users. Festival organisers are always responsible for the cost of works required to reinstate the park after the festival. “I’d like to thank the local community for their patience as repairs take place, I know the damage caused by the weather conditions during the festival has had an impact on residents, and particularly families during the school holidays. The council will monitor progress to ensure that high quality and sustainable repairs are made in reasonable timeframes for the weather conditions and the park is opened up for use as soon as sections become ready. We will keep working with Tramlines to ensure this level of damage is avoided if extreme wet weather happens during the festival again.”