FRESH calls for action to remove a tyre mountain on a business park have been made after it emerged a proposed sell-off of the land had fallen through.

FRESH calls for action to remove a tyre mountain on a business park have been made after it emerged a proposed sell-off of the land had fallen through.

More than 500,000 tyres have blighted Tattersett Business Park, near Fakenham, for the past 10 years.

Efforts by North Norfolk Council and the Environment Agency to get the tyres removed have been thwarted by ownership changes.

Now, MP Norman Lamb has said it is about time something was done after he learned a proposed sell-off by mortgage lender French bank Societe General (SG) to a consortium had failed. The consortium had pledged to get rid of the eyesore and hazard within 18 months, he said.

SG, which provided a mortgage to Highstar Properties to buy the site, could not comment on why or how the deal had fallen through.

Highstar was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office after it emerged the park was sold for £16m, in 2005, just a year after it had changed hands for £2.75m.

A spokesman said: “For SG it is very important we find the right purchasers for the site. Every effort is being made to do so.”

Mr Lamb said: “We are still in a position where nothing is being done. If they do not get on with getting the site sold, then the Environment Agency should take enforcement action against SG. It needs to get tough with them.

“SG is a substantial company with massive resources; they have to take responsibility for the land. It is a dire eyesore and a massive environmental hazard.”

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We are in contact with the current owner regarding the site.

“We are pleased that they are still looking to sell it and when that happens we intend to work closely with them to advise and facilitate the removal of the tyres. The sale will hopefully happen soon. If we do not see action to an agreed time scale with the new owner they could face prosecution. We are keeping an eye on it as an ongoing issue.”

About a third of the tyres were removed and fire breaks put up some years ago.