‘I spent two days trying to report it!' Councillor calls for speedier response to fly-tipping reports

A Bridgnorth councillor is calling on Shropshire Council to urgently review and speed up its procedures for dealing with fly-tipping after spending two days trying to report a pile of rubbish.

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Reform UK Councillor Sue Eden was told about a large pile of dumped rubbish on the riverside in Bridgnorth by residents.

After visiting the site on Monday (July 20) and becoming concerned about the impact on public footpaths, the local environment and the experience of residents and visitors, Councillor Eden said she immediately began trying to get the waste removed.

However, instead of a swift response, she said she spent two days attempting to report the issue through the appropriate channels.

After calling the 0345 number listed on the council's website, she was unable to get through to anyone.

On Tuesday she visited the Veolia depot in Bridgnorth in person, only to be directed back to the same telephone number that had gone unanswered.

She said that as of Thursday morning, the waste was still at the riverside.

She said: "Residents expect fly-tipping to be dealt with quickly, especially when rubbish has been dumped on a public footpath. Instead, what I found was a frustrating system that appears more interested in directing people around than solving the problem.

"I spent two days trying to report this issue and get action taken. If an elected councillor struggles to get a response, residents will understandably wonder what chance they have.

"People pay their council tax expecting basic environmental services to function properly. They should not have to navigate a maze of unanswered phone calls and bureaucracy just to get rubbish removed from a public space."

The councillor is now calling on Shropshire Council to review its reporting procedures and ensure that fly-tipping incidents can be logged and acted upon more quickly.

She added: "Fly-tipping blights communities, damages the environment and creates unnecessary health and safety concerns. The council needs a system that is easy to access, responsive and focused on getting problems resolved quickly.

"This should be a straightforward process. Instead, residents and councillors are being passed from pillar to post. That needs to change."

David Vasmer, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and waste, said: “We encourage anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report it through the Shropshire Council website or the FixMyStreet app. This enables reports to be fed directly into our system for us to follow up.

“Residents and councillors play an important role in helping us tackle fly-tipping and the information they provide can be crucial in helping us to identify offenders and take enforcement action against those who spoil Shropshire’s environment.

“Fly-tipping is unsightly, it’s dangerous and it costs a lot of money for the council to clear up – money that could be far better spent on providing services to local people.”