Builder fined for burning demolition waste in Glasshouses

A builder has been fined more than £1,300 for burning demolition waste on land at Harewell Wood Cottage, Glasshouses.

Harrogate Borough Council visited the property on April 29 last year and witnessed remnants of a fire from the previous evening, which consisted of timber and some corrugated roofing sheets.

Philip Snow, 31, from Glasshouses had carried out demolition work – operating under PR Snow Services – at the former butchers in Summerbridge and then disposed of some of the waste on land owned by his parents, in order to burn it, rather than disposing of the waste at an authorised waste disposal site.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue had extinguished the fire at the property on the previous evening.

The blaze had been emitting dark smoke caused by the burning of timber, insulated sandwich panels and corrugated roofing sheets.

The fire sent large amounts of black smoke into the atmosphere, causing environmental pollution and potential harm to health.

This dark smoke caused by the burning of these materials is an offence under the Clean Air Act 1993 so Harrogate Borough Council took Mr Snow to court.

The Environment Agency provided a witness statement stating there was no environmental permit or exemption in place for the burning of waste on the land at the time of the incident.

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Last month York Magistrate Court fined Snow, who pleaded guilty, £678 for the offence under section 2(1) of the Clean Air Act 1993 and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £635.

Cllr Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, said:

“Mr Snow has shown a complete lack of awareness or consideration for the law, as well as the environment, by disposing of commercial waste in this way.

“I’d like to thank the concerned residents who raised the alarm, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for dealing with the fire swiftly and safely as well as the council officers.

“I hope this is a reminder to business owners that the illegal disposal of waste is a criminal offence and we will, with proper evidence, seek to prosecute the offender.”

Waste disposal law

Anyone employing an individual or business to remove waste from their property or business has a responsibility to ensure they dispose of it legitimately.

The easiest way to do this is to check they have a waste carriers licence (Upper Tier). This can be done on the Environment Agency’s website or by calling 0370 850 6506.

The council also advise asking for a receipt documenting the waste that was taken, by who and at what cost.

More information about fly-tipping is available on the council’s website.

Anger after Harrogate builder James Moss declared bankrupt

Three women owed thousands of pounds by Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss have said they feel let down by the system after he was declared bankrupt.

Mr Moss has lost a string of civil court cases in recent years for poor quality or unfinished building work. He owed over £30,000 to five different homeowners who won cases against him.

Going bankrupt means that Mr Moss, who lives in Summerbridge, won’t be liable for his debts and it is unlikely his claimants will ever see a penny they are owed or recover legal bills.

‘Completely flabbergasted’

Karen Macgillivray-Fallis spent her life savings on a £30,000 garage conversion in Burton Leonard for her elderly mother-in-law, but Mr Moss left it in such a state it had to be demolished.

Her mother-in-law passed away and Ms Macgillivray-Fallis blames Mr Moss for denying them of their final days living together as a family.

She said:

“I am completely flabbergasted how easy it is for someone who owes money to declare themselves bankrupt. 

“I am not a big business, I am a normal person who has lost life savings in an attempt to provide a home for my elderly mother-in-law who never had the opportunity to come and live with us due to the actions of Mr Moss. She died alone in April 2019.

“It is very frustrating that the court look at all the evidence, make a decision and then the decision seems to be unenforceable. I have worked for charities all my working life so I really support systems that protect people in genuine need but I have not seen any evidence that this is the case with Mr Moss.

“It is really important to me that justice prevails and we will be taking further steps to ensure that this happens.”

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Gill Lawrence works for a homeless charity and takes vulnerable young people into at her home near Wetherby Road whilst they get back on their feet

Mr Moss left a £13,000 kitchen conversion half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.

Ms Lawrence said she feels “let down” by the legal system, which has cost her even more money trying to recover the money she was owed.

“I have paid to take him to court, who agreed with me. They instructed him to pay me £8,700 which he refused to do. The courts do nothing else to ensure you get the money they have instructed him to pay.

“At that point I think it should be up to them to enforce payment, but no, you have to pay them even more money for them to instruct payment, and then you have to pay even more money to instruct bailiffs to collect from him.

“He has still refused to pay. So now he has declared himself bankrupt, I feel like I have been let down three times, by him, the courts and the bailiffs who I paid a fortune to and I’ve ended up with nothing. How can that be right?.”

‘More regulation is needed’

Vicky Cooke is a French teacher from Ilkley who needed a new roof on an extension at her home. Ms Cooke paid Moss £3,400 for the job, and he even offered a 25-year guarantee that the work would be built to last.

But after apparently completing the job it took just two months for the roof to start leaking.

Ms Cooke said:

“I’m not really surprised that Mr Moss is declaring himself bankrupt. The debt will be written off. In the meantime, we’ve worked hard and honestly to earnt the money to pay a reputable roofer to repair what we’d already paid to Mr Moss to do.

“The whole building and roofing trade needs regulating to protect consumers from cowboys like James Moss.”

‘The system is unfair’

Andrew Gray, founder of Harrogate law firm Truth Legal, said the small claims court process was stacked against the claimant and that “crafty defendants” know how to play the system.

He said:

“If a claimant engages a solicitor to pursue a claim, then, even if the claim succeeds, the claimant is unlikely to recover their legal costs. In claims for smaller sums, perversely, the legal fees can dwarf the amount of damages. With or without lawyers, the process is slow and always stressful.

“When defendants become insolvent, the litigation process usually becomes pointless, further annoying a genuine claimant, who is left significantly out of pocket and further aggrieved.

“Frankly, the system is unfair and is deserving of a significant upheaval.

“Crafty defendants know how to play the system, to the massive disadvantage of the rule-following majority.”

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Moss to respond to this article but we did not receive a response by time of publication.

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss declared bankrupt

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss has been declared bankrupt, following a string of civil court cases in the past few years for poor quality or unfinished building work.

Mr Moss left a trail of shoddy workmanship across the Harrogate district and owed over £30,000 to five different homeowners who won cases against him.

A document on the public records website The Gazette says Mr Moss filed for bankruptcy last week and his application was accepted the next day. It lists him as not working and living in Summerbridge.

Mr Moss has multiple claims outstanding from people who hired him for building work. 

Last year, the Stray Ferret heard how two women won cases against him in the civil court.

They included a woman in Harrogate who said he left a £13,000 kitchen half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.

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Three different claimants have also won cases in the county court against Mr Moss this year alone.

In January, he was told to pay £11,495 to a woman who was unhappy about the quality of his work.

In February, he was ordered to repay money after a £30,000 garage conversion was so poor it had to be partly demolished.

In April, he was ordered by a judge to repay a man from Knaresborough £1,275 after he took a deposit but failed to show up on a job.

None of them have received any money from Mr Moss.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Moss for a comment but he declined.

Harrogate cowboy builder James Moss ordered to repay deposit by courts

Harrogate builder James Moss has been ordered by a judge to repay a man from Knaresborough £1,275, after he took a deposit but failed to show up on a job.

The Harrogate Justice Centre held a virtual hearing yesterday with claimant David King. Mr Moss failed to attend.

District Judge William Josling read out an email sent by Mr Moss to the court on April 16. It said the business that he claimed provided the work, DBL Yorkshire, has now ceased trading and he has no association with it any longer.

The judge said he had also submitted a defence of bad weather and supply.

However, this was not accepted by Judge Josling who proceeded to hear the case in the builder’s absence.

Mr King, of Beech Grove in Knaresborough, told the court that he had paid £1,275 in a deposit in June 2020 for building work that was never started.

He said a date was set to begin the work in August 2020 “which came and went”.

He added:

“The excuses came in, he said there was problems with the weather and the scaffolding. Then he ceased communications.”

Judge Josling ordered Mr Moss to pay Mr King the full £1,275 plus costs.

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Three different claimants have now won cases in the county court against Mr Moss in 2021 alone.

In January, he was told to pay £11,495 to a woman who was unhappy about the quality of his work.

In February, he was ordered to repay money after a £30,000 garage conversion was so poor it had to be partly demolished.

Last year, the Stray Ferret heard how two other women also won cases against Mr Moss in the civil court for poor workmanship.

None of them have received any money from James Moss.

North Yorkshire County Council’s trading standards department has been criticised for its response to the builder.