Knutsford businessman prosecuted by council for operating without environmental permit

A Knutsford businessman and his company have been prosecuted for operating without an environmental permit and ordered to pay fines, orders and costs totalling nearly £395,000.

That's almost 400 times the amount it would have cost him to operate within the legal framework!

Thomas Bagley, 40, is the sole director of Knutsford Concrete and Aggregates Ltd. Both Bagley and his business were prosecuted by Cheshire East Council for operating without a permit at Wood Platt Yard, Chelford Road, Knutsford, as required by the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016.

The charges related to the period April 2020 to December 2023. 

Bagley and the business were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday, 30 January 2026, having entered guilty pleas in February 2024.

Councillor David Jefferay, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said:

“This successful prosecution by Cheshire East Council sends a very clear message that operating illegally will not be tolerated in this borough.

“The Environmental Permitting Regulations ensure that activities with environmental risks – like those carried out by Bagley – are properly controlled, helping to protect people, communities and the environment, and ensuring businesses operate safely and legally. When operators choose to ignore them, they put all of that at risk.

“Bagley told our investigating officers that it would be cheaper for him to be taken to court for the offences than to shut down his operation – we’ve shown that to be the complete opposite.

“During the offending period, it would have cost Bagley around £1,000 to ensure he had everything in place, including the necessary permit, to operate legally, whereas it has cost the company more than £360,000 and him personally £34,450 in fines and proceeds of crime confiscation orders, plus his own legal costs.

“It also means a criminal conviction against both the company and Bagley as an individual.

“These are significant consequences, and I hope they serve as a strong deterrent to others.”

The business received a sentence of:

• A £50k fine discounted to £37k due to an early guilty plea, to be paid within six months.
• Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation order amounting to £193k, to be paid within 14 days.

Bagley, who lives in a property at the same site as his business address, received a sentence of:

• A £2,450 fine to be paid within three months.

• Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation order amounting to £32k to be paid within 14 days.

Costs of £130,149.90 awarded against the company will also need to be paid within 12 months.