Tidy Our Town: Resident photographs dead rat among litter and fly tipping in ‘disgusting’ neighbourhood

Tia Cottingham has lived in Elizabeth Walk since 2011. The 37-year-old was born and bred in Northampton and has lived in the area of her current home for almost two decades.

The littering and fly tipping issue is most prominent outside her garden gate, which backs onto Bouverie Walk. She and her fellow residents keep reporting to West Northamptonshire Council and claim that nothing has been done.

With rats also frequently spotted going from garden to garden, Tia is questioning the use of her council tax payments when unfortunately she does not feel listened to by WNC.

Tia says there has been an issue with littering and fly tipping in the area for as long as she has lived there, but it has worsened in recent years.

The resident believes the rats are residing under her next door neighbour’s shed and they have been sighted since summer 2025. Since then, she has killed eight rats in traps in her garden.

“It’s disgusting,” said Tia. “We’ve done nothing but report through the app and got nowhere. They say it will be sorted by this date and it doesn’t go anywhere. It’s a losing battle and seems to be getting worse. I can’t have visitors, it’s so embarrassing to have that on my doorstep.”

Tia unfortunately cannot imagine a litter, fly tipping and rat-free future for the area, and pleads with WNC to “pull their socks up”.

‘We take all reports of fly tipping extremely seriously’

When approached for comment by this newspaper, WNC’s cabinet member for environment, recycling and waste Councillor Nigel Stansfield said: “While our records show very few fly tipping or cleansing reports for Elizabeth Walk or Bouverie Walk in recent years – with none recorded in the past 12 months – we recognise that nearby Portland Place has historically been a hotspot and receives targeted attention from our teams.

“Since August last year, we have made significant improvements to the way we manage fly tipping removal, which has increased the speed and effectiveness of our response across West Northamptonshire.”

Councillor Andrew Last, cabinet member for HR, corporate and regulatory services, added: “We take all reports of fly tipping extremely seriously, and our Neighbourhood Wardens continue to regularly patrol the area around Elizabeth Walk and investigate any offences.

“With the resources available, we focus our work in areas of greatest need, based on intelligence from our community, our wardens, councillors and local groups. Where we find robust evidence of unlawful waste disposal, we will take enforcement action in line with our published policies.

“We encourage residents to report any concerns via our website or mobile app. These reports are vital in helping us build a clear picture of activity in specific locations and ensuring our resources are targeted where they are most needed.

“We also welcome any supporting information such as CCTV, Ring doorbell or dashcam footage that may assist our investigations.”

Published at the start of this week, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Chronicle & Echo revealed that WNC issued just 12 fines for fly tipping in the first nine months of 2025 and had two successful prosecutions – despite receiving more than 19,000 reports.

Figures released under the FOI show that between January 1 and September 30, 2025, WNC recorded 19,094 fly tipping reports. Of these, only 12 resulted in fines. The council also sent 414 Community Protection Warning letters and secured two prosecutions for fly tipping, despite 2,813 official enforcement notices being issued.