Tidy Our Town: Resident disappointed by ‘degrading and disgusting’ fly tipping issue on her estate
A Northampton resident has expressed her disappointment at the “degrading and disgusting” fly tipping which continues to worsen on her estate.
Carolyn Long has lived in South Priors Court in the Lings and Thorplands area for the past 11 years, and says residents are “totally fed up” with the persistent fly tipping.
When she reached out to the Chronicle & Echo, Carolyn said: “The issue is now becoming out of hand. At times the estate resembles a war zone.”
As a trustee for charity Growing Together Northampton, Carolyn says the biggest issue which comes up time and time again among the community is fly tipping. Littering is less of a problem as the Northants Litter Wombles do a “fantastic job”.
“I have never seen it as bad as it has been over the last couple of years,” said Carolyn. “It has escalated. You go for a walk and people have dumped rubbish on every bit of green land.”
Pictured first is a recent fly tip on Birds Hill Road, which Carolyn says had been there for five days. West Northamptonshire Council successfully collected it within their two-day window after it was reported.
The resident explained that there are alleyways between the houses and these are met with railings at the end, to ensure safety on main roads.
Carolyn described the areas between the alleyways and railings as “dumping grounds” and when one fly tip is placed there, people see a green light to add to it.
Though it is great that the local authority collected the most recent fly tip in the timeframe they set out, Carolyn was confident that another would be in the same place soon after.
Among the most commonly fly tipped items in the area are beds, mattresses, sofas, children’s items, household waste, televisions, boxes from house moves and tins of food.
Carolyn was recently visited by a friend from Germany, who could not believe the state of the area.
“It’s not nice,” she said. “The pride seems to have gone in the estate. When we moved here, we thought we were getting a lot of house for little money – with green areas, parks and lakes. It is a beautiful part of town with a bad reputation now.”
Growing Together Northampton recently held a board meeting to discuss what they would like to see moving forward to tackle the fly tipping issue.
They believe if the local authority set a date and time for fly tip collections, in which people could leave their items in one place, it would have a positive impact.
“Some people do not have £25 for Council collection,” said Carolyn. “We would like to see notices on the railings warning it is not a place for household waste.”
Carolyn says Growing Together Northampton cannot go a couple of days without the fly tipping issue being raised by members of the community. She concluded that it is “degrading and disgusting” for residents to have to tolerate.
If you would like to get involved in the Tidy Our Town campaign, established in collaboration with the Northants Litter Wombles, email [email protected].