Fly-tipping anger as skip site is closed
Wednesday 22nd July 2009, 9:20AM BST.
Residents claim that they are being forced to fly-tip their rubbish after a weekly amenity skip was temporarily closed.
The skip, which is sited at Church Stretton’s coach park, has been closed to allow Network Rail to carry out maintenance on a nearby section of track.
But many say the closure has caused problems for elderly residents who regularly take their rubbish in wheelbarrows to the site.
One resident, who declined to be named, said they did not want to drive to the waste site at Craven Arms, adding to traffic and pollution, as well as wasting petrol.
And one housewife claimed she had no choice but to dump an old cooker on the side of the road.
She said she could not take it to Craven Arms because she did not have room in the car for her children and the cooker.
She said: “I am not a person to fly-tip, but if the council failed to carry out their obligations to me than I will do the same to them.”
However, Shropshire Council said there was no excuse for fly-tipping.
Gareth Proffitt, council spokesman, said: “Household waste can be disposed of at the Craven Arms household recycling centre, and for bulky items there are charitable furniture schemes who will collect items from your home.”
Councillor Bob Welch, Church Stretton town mayor, said he did not want one irresponsible person to detract from the fact that residents could have benefited from more notice.
He said: “Should this happen again we, as a town council, would wish to have more adequate notice and the residents would also appreciate adequate notice to avoid the inconvenience caused on this occasion.”
Mr Proffitt said: “As soon as our waste team became aware of the site closure we arranged for our contractor Veolia to put up signs to inform residents.
“We apologise to residents for any inconvenience caused during this unavoidable and temporary disruption to the service.”
By Sophie Bignall
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What? They’re admitting to fly-tipping? What are they doing, just throwing rubbish into ditches, fields, etc? Don’t they have dustbins (or the equivalent) in Church Stretton?
Well, let’s see how long it is before they’re up before the courts, and get fined or jailed.
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It’s the usual “drama out of a crisis” scenario. There was a notice that the weekly amenity skip would not be in Church Stretton. Most of the “wheelbarrow” folk have surely got cars and could take their rubbish to the Craven Arms site, as those of us who work all week have to. If this is the attitude of the retired people of Church Stretton – that they will just dump their rubbish rather than deal with it responsibly – what is the world coming to?
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“Forced to fly-tip their rubbish…”?!?!? Who is forcing them? They have bins. They usually have gardens to store their rubbish for a week or two. There’s a recycling centre at Stretton, and a council tip at Craven Arms. These people (they will be the older generation, not the younger!) would be the first to loudly complain in Church Stretton if a youngster dropped a bit of litter. If they are pushing wheelbarrows it should be easy enough to catch up with them and deal with them in the appropriate manner. Vandals.
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WEEKLY collections!! thats not fair we all get fortnightly everywhere else in shropshire
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fly tipping is a criminal offence
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Shropshire Unitary Authority. Can’t even organise a skip. Pathetic. And don’t blame Rail Track!
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that women should be fined for fly tipping, thats so unbelievably lazy – for god sake, there is a tip in craven arms just 5 miles away!
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fly tipping in an AONB that makes me sick
i used to farm up brecon way and all sorts of folk would drive on out to mine for dumping, i must have spent a few grand a year on waste disposal for them, just a small part of why i got out of farming
its sick though this behaviour, makes you want to bring back hanging for these people
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shocking behaviour!
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why do they get skips in stretton? We had that abolished years ago in Telford and Shrewsbury and everywhere else. Surely we should all get an equal level of service for the same tax?
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Stretton never changes, to many old people, with to much time to moan. Use that time to drive to the tip like everyone else does.
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absolutely jeff its so easy to visit the tip these days, but better still why not donate items like cookers and such to charity shops and those in need, you get a free collection that way too!
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Dean marney #8: Did I just read that right? You want to hang people for disposing of rubbish incorrectly!? While we’re at it let’s cut off the hands of people who drop cigarette butts and shoot people who park on double yellow lines. That’ll teach them! (sarcastic rant over)
I know that fly tipping is illegal and I agree that it shows a complete disrespect for the area one lives in/around and so I agree that these people should be charged and fined as necessary. But hanging?! Please everyone, just calm down and get some perspective!
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i hate fly tippings its so ugly and it can be dangerous
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It is good that the church stretton council does weekly collections of skips but it should not be neccessary because the bloated shropshire council should be doing weekly bin pick ups like the conservative national policy will be when we take over. David Cameron has promised to bring back weekly bin day in Shropshire and all over England. We have proven just like this shows that fornightly bins are a labour stealth tax which creates more fly tipping and the people are right to be angry that the council does such a bad job that they have to have a skip for rubbish because they dont pick up the bins each week even though we pay more than 2 grand a year in council tax plus many like me pay business rates too
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no excuse for fly tipping but to be honest the council is asking for it putting a skip out in the street, what do they expect, why are they doing this, such an archaic practice, they ought to be encouraging people to reduce waste not inviting it
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“I only fly tipped because the council took our free skip away”
Thats like saying i murder someone because im from a deprived background, its just typical of criminals these days they are always excusing their behaviour.
there is no defence in the eyes of the law as far as im concerned the council should throw the book at them and fine them for littering offences
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