Fly-tipping in Peterborough: Anger as huge pile of builders waste dumped in countryside near village

The rubble has been left in a lay-by near Ailsworth

There has been anger after a huge pile of builders waste was left dumped in countryside near Peterborough.

The rubble was fly-tipped in a lay-by on Helpston Road near Ailsworth – next to a countryside path popular with dog walkers.

Now Peter Hiller and Neil Boyce – the two ward councillors for Glinton and Castor, where the fly-tip was left – have called for harsher penalties for those who fly-tip.

“We do think the penalties should be much higher"

Cllr Hiller said: “'Fly tipping across our beautiful rural ward is a problem, certainly.

"Both Neil and I have, over the years, worked variously with Peterborough City Council officers, land owners and the Environment Agency to clear these issues as swiftly as we can and have usually been successful in our actions.

"That said, it's not getting less of an eyesore for residents, farms and rural businesses so we do think the penalties should be much higher when the culprits are prosecuted successfully.”

“Do not use an unlicensed carrier"

The story of the dump near Ailsworth is the latest The Peterborough Telegraph has featured in a series of stories about fly-tipping in Peterborough.

Last week, the Peterborough Telegraph joined cllr Steve Allen and cllr Mark Ormston, who represent the Eye, Thorney and Newborough ward, in their patch, after reports of fly-tipping on an ‘industrial scale.’

Cllr Allen spoke of the importance of using licensed carriers to dispose of waste.

He said: “I would urge anyone who has to dispose of anything, do not use an unlicensed carrier. Make sure you get sight of the carrier’s card – because then you would get to understand that the person taking it from you is legitimate.”

Both he and Cllr Ormston called for harsher punishments for those caught fly-tipping, with cllr Ormston saying: “We need to look at the whole system, from start to finish – especially punishment. We need to get much tougher punishments and prosecutions for people who are caught doing this.”

“I would like to see charges for bulky waste removed for people on Universal Credit"

Speaking at a hot-spot near Leighton School, Cllr Skibsted said: “I’d like to see more CCTV if that was possible – certainly for hotspots like this. I do think we need some strong signage – there is nothing around here. There was a suggestion that children at the school made some posters, which is a good idea. There has also been a suggestion about education, which clearly also needs to happen.

"But we need to clear this area and make it clear this is not an area for people to dump their waste.”

Cllr Day said getting to the root cause of the issue was key.

Speaking at the site of a huge fly-tip in her ward, she said: “Maybe the answers are that maybe we do have some designated spaces where people can put items to be collected, because that is what we have to do anyway.

"But this site is not within easy reach of any CCTV cameras, so we really need to get education on board, the community on board, educating people about the dangers of putting some of these waste items in these spaces.

"I would like to see charges for bulky waste removed for people on Universal Credit, or some areas where people can put their rubbish. But there are no easy answers, because this is a continuing issue in areas like this.”

“People are just leaving black bags of rubbish in vegetation and on verges”

Harry Machin, one of the founders of the Peterborough Litter Wombles group, said the problem of litter in the city was getting worse.

He said: “People are just leaving black bags of rubbish in vegetation and on verges.

"There are thousands of ‘small’ fly-tips like that.

"The council are being really good now – they are going in and cutting the vegetation back, so we can get in and clear it.

"We are finding crisp packets and drinks cans dating back to 2003, but a lot of it comes from around 2012, when austerity started.

"We see a lot of drinks cans and bottles, sweet wrappers and fast food rubbish. It is getting worse.

"There is also a lot of DIY waste – it is understandable when it costs so much to dispose of it.”

People are urged to report fly-tipping by visiting www.peterborough.gov.uk

News you can trust since 1948
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice