Concerns raised that River Nene 'could become contaminated' from 'some of the worst fly-tipping ever seen in Northampton'

Resident and former Tory councillor James Hill has raised concerns about fly-tipping in Martin’s Yard between Semilong and Dallington, just off the Spencer Bridge Road.

Among the rubbish are mattresses, sofas, carpets and broken furniture, along with white goods and electrical items. Construction and demolition waste is also present, including bricks, timber and plasterboard.

Black bags and loose household waste are scattered throughout, mixed with what appears to be commercial and industrial material. Parts of a caravan can also be seen among the debris.

Rather than being contained to one area, the waste is spread across the site and onto surrounding ground and pathways, suggesting the dumping has taken place over a period of time.

Mr Hill has written to Reform’s cabinet member for the environment Nigel Stansfield this week but has not yet received a response.

In that letter, Mr Hill said: “This is probably an example of some of the worst fly tipping I have ever seen. While the majority of the rubbish\waste is on private land some has spilled out on to nearby public fields and walk ways.

“The nature of the waste appears to be commercial in part and may contain hazardous materials- this is particularly concerning as the River Nene flows close by and I am concerned it might become contaminated as a result.

“I believe the council does have some measures along with the Environmental Agency to work with land owners to clear fly tipping, especially when it is a hazardous situation. Are you able to look into this, as a matter of urgency as it appears to being added

to daily?”

In a social media post he added: “I hope our Reform UK council takes swift action.”

In response, residents said: “I’m so mad.”

“Surely that must all be polluting the river? There are kingfishers along there and even children playing in the water. Whose responsibility is it to get this sorted?”

“A chance for Reform to prove themselves.”

Labour group leader Sally Keeble said: “Fly tipping is a crime. Increasingly it appears to be organised crime that produces profits for criminals. We need an inter-agency approach, the police and council working together to prosecute the serious criminals through the courts and clear the rubbish. Justice needs to be speedy. So WNC needs stronger powers and penalties including increase in fixed penalty fine levels to tackle the smaller-scale fly-tipping which is blighting communities and countryside.

“There are some well known longstanding flytipping hotspots, often linked to other anti-social and criminal activity, especially substance abuse, and the council should act in these immediately. Finally there have been a lot of complaints of flytipping linked to houses in multiple occupation. The Labour Group wants to see a levy charged on the landlords to make them pay upfront for such flytipping.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Waste criminals scar our environment and communities. We are committed to stopping them.

“We notified the landowners as soon as we became aware of illegal activity at this site and will work with them to clear the waste. They are victims of constant fly tipping and are looking to secure the site for prevention going forwards.

“If people suspect illegal waste activities, they should contact out 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060.”

Councillor Andrew Last, WNC Cabinet Member for HR, Corporate Services and Regulatory Services, said: “Clearly this is totally unacceptable, and we are actively investigating now it has been brought to our attention.

“The land is privately owned, and we will be working with the landowner to investigate with a view to taking enforcement action if evidence allows us to do so.”