Following two fires in three weeks at the site of Greener World, Farnham Road – on Saturday 5 April and Monday 17 March 2025 – Slough Borough Council, Slough Police and the Environment Agency (EA) have released the following statement:

“We understand how concerning the two fires, especially in such a short amount of time, have been for the nearby residents and business of the Greener World site on the Farnham Road. 

“We would like to reassure everyone that, as a partnership, we are not only sharing information with each other but stepping up efforts to ensure there are no further fires on the site, by encouraging and taking action to compel the removal of all the waste on the site, quickly and safely and to stop all illegal activity from beginning again. 

“Investigations have begun and are continuing by both the council and the EA into breaches of planning conditions and alleged environmental offences.

“Yesterday (10 April 2025) the council served official warning notices on the landowner – stressing any further breaches under section 43 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, could result in a formal community protection notice (CPN). 

“Failure to comply with a CPN can result in prosecution and an unlimited fine.

“We are taking this action because any processing of waste on this site is illegal, and activity to clear the area needs to be well managed, controlling the risk of fire and limiting any potential disruption to the community. 

“This site is next to the mainline railway from Paddington, a major data centre, around 100 homes and local schools, which all could be affected by a fire directly or from smoke.

“In addition, the risk of any smoke, the air quality and the impact on ground water is significant.

“We are clear the people operating on the site is not the landowner, but the landowner was, is and will continue to be liable for what takes place on his land.

“We do not take these actions lightly and we will continue to engage with the landowner and encourage efforts to clear this land and the associated risks whilst proactively working with Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service to reduce the risk of fire whilst the clean-up is taking place.

“However, we will not hesitate to take more formal action, with partners, should the landowner or the operators on the site not respond swiftly and, most importantly, safely, to limit any impact on the community from their activity.”