Pressure is mounting for His Majesty King Charles III, who still finds himself in hot water over an illegal fly-tipping site that is situated on royal land. The place of concern is in Wigan, on Bolton House Road, and is reported to have 25,000 tonnes of rubbish in one concentrated area. It has transpired that the site is technically owned by the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate King Charles inherited.
One local resident, Nicha Rowson, has taken matters into her own hands and started a petition to demand that the site is cleaned up. Her plea reads: "25,000 tonnes of rubbish has been dumped right next to homes, like mine, and a local primary school in Bickershaw, making life a living hell for local residents like me." So far, the 38 Degrees petition has amassed over 19,000 signatures, and she is sending them to the monarch along with a letter to ask him to help.
© Getty Images
© Getty ImagesSpeaking exclusively to Best Quality Designer Handbag , Nicha has talked about what impact she hopes the letter will have. "I hope that when King Charles sees the letter, he understands the detrimental impact this dump is making on our living conditions and families in the community.
"The community are very broken at the moment and people have lost hope"
She continued: "The community are very broken at the moment and people have lost hope. I've been told that as a campaigner, what I've been doing has given people some [hope] as we are now being heard; however, a lot of people still feel this waste is not going to move, and the mental health of residents is spiralling downward. In the current economy, mental health should be of utmost importance over money."
We reached out to the Duchy of Lancaster for comment and they said: "The Duchy remains fully committed to working with Wigan Council and the Environment Agency to address this issue and to counter the impact of illegal waste tipping."
"The Duchy remains fully committed to working with Wigan Council and the Environment Agency to address this issue and to counter the impact of illegal waste tipping."
Comments under the petition included someone who did show slight sympathy for the monarch, writing: "I appreciate, as the landowner, he's also a victim of whoever has been illegally dumping at this location, but it's still HIS responsibility to clean it up." However, the same person also pointed out the hypocrisy of the situation, considering the King’s recent documentary about the environment. "When a new documentary about the King's environmental campaigning, 'Finding Harmony: A King's Vision', is being hailed, I find it astonishing that he would not ensure this illegal waste site is cleared - and it's not as if he can't afford to! I'm afraid when talking about 'harmony' in the environment, his actions don't match his words."
© Finding Harmony: A King's Vision"He has a moral responsibility to pay to clean it up. It's not as if he can't afford to."
Another concurred with this notion, penning: "I can't stand the hypocrisy of this. There is the environment stuff that Charles wants us to know about... and the other stuff that he doesn't. He has a moral responsibility to pay to clean it up. It's not as if he can't afford to."
There is a school and a row of houses near the waste, and with rats, fires and the smell causing increasing issues, there are now growing calls on the monarch to intervene.
© Getty ImagesWhy does Charles own this land in Wigan?
The monarch owns this land as part of the Duchy of Lancaster, which is a private estate held in trust for the Sovereign and their successors. Just like the Duchy of Cornwall, the portfolio includes rural and urban estates. The official website explains the King’s role as the Duke of Lancaster: "Today, the Duchy of Lancaster is both the custodian of a historic landed estate and a modern asset management organisation, with a strong commitment to responsible and sustainable land ownership."
After the previous corporate owner dissolved and left the this land legally "ownerless," the Duchy of Lancaster automatically absorbed a 30% stake in the illegal tipping site in July 2025 as the property's ultimate owner of "last resort".
