AN ISLE of Wight businessman on trial over six alleged enforcement notice breaches – for undertaking development work without planning permission and using land at Merrie Gardens as a “dumping site” – says he spent £100,000 clearing up another company’s “illegal dumping”.

Louis William Tudor Smith, of Marlborough Road, Ventnor, denies six counts of breaching an Isle of Wight Council planning enforcement notice, issued in April 2019, and is representing himself, as well as Merrie Gardens Ltd and Westover Park Estate Ltd, for which he is a director.

Mr Smith claims he, and those he instructed, were trying to do the right thing, and used their best endeavours to comply with the notice.

He said it was ISG PLC’s mess, not his own, and accused the construction specialists – who were employed to work on an extension at Morrisons – of overstepping the mark and overstaying their welcome.

He said he had a major problem with flooding on the site, and ISG were responsible, for failing to run a proper site, dragging mud off site, and failing to reinstate the full number of French drains.

He also accused the council of being economical with the truth and failing to investigate his concerns about fly tipping and his allegations against ISG.

Among those to give evidence as a witness was Glen Nelson, who was instructed by Mr Smith to erect a boundary fence.

He was asked a series of questions concerning the work he carried out, his instructions, and the challenges he faced.

Mr Nelson spoke of the difficulties he had with one of Mr Smith’s neighbours – of how he was ‘threatened’ and ‘intimidated’ – and confirmed there were problems with fly tipping on the site.

He said hard core, metal, and general building waste had been dumped on Mr Smith’s land.

He also told members of the jury the ‘aggressive’ neighbour dug a trench, ran him off with a digger, and put heavy tires along the fence line so he could not carry on the work.

The court also heard from Mark King, whose company MK Assets was working on the site on behalf of Mr Smith.

He said he had known Mr Smith for more than ten years and was asked to clear up ‘loads of fly tipping’ at Merrie Gardens.

Asked what his link to the site was, Mr King said he had been negotiating a contract for land there once it had been cleared and planning permission was received, so it was not in his best interests to mess up the site he had agreed to buy.

Mr King said he was instructed to clear up the site, not make a mess, and the rubbish he was told to clear was what Morrisons (ISG PLC) and others had left behind.

Mr Smith later took to the witness box to give evidence himself, taking members of the jury through various pictures of the site, as well as email chains with various parties.

He conceded to importing Heras fencing, which he said was to protect the public from certain digging works; minor excavations to clear the site.

Mr Smith said he only gave ISG PLC a limited licence and accused them of ignoring his correspondence and failing to consult with him before pulling down a fence.

He also spoke of a stroke he suffered shortly before national lockdown, in January 2020, and of how he had not been firing on all cylinders around that time.

Mr Smith said lots of people fly tipped on the site during Covid, and showed the jury photographic evidence of a truck trespassing on his land.

He had no photographic evidence of anyone dumping material on the site.

Mr Smith told the court he spent £100,000 clearing the site, slamming ISG PLC for their ‘sloping shoulder approach’ and ‘illegal dumping’ on his land after he allowed them on site ‘out of kindness’.

The trial continues.