University students in Northampton accused of 'dumping rubbish' on street as they move out

Fly-tipping in Far Cotton. Photo: Julie Davenport

Mattresses, large items of furniture and bags of waste are being fly-tipped in the terraced roads popular for student housing over the past few weeks.

Cllr Julie Davenport said locals are waking up almost every day to the sight of more unwanted belongings left on the pavement and even in the park bushes.

"It's just everything they don't want and I don't know when this started when people thought they could dump things outside their doors especially on terraced streets where it obstructs the highway," she said.

"They don't want to take it to the tip or home and if they left them in the back garden and the landlord had to remove them, the landlord might withhold some of their deposit. But they let the taxpayer pick up the tab.

Cllr Davenport said there have been reports of fly-tipping on Euston Road, Southampton Road, Towcester Road, London Road, Abbey Road, St Leonards Road and Delapre Street.

She added that Northampton Borough Council saw this issue coming and tried to get the university to make sure it did not happen, but to no avail.

A university spokesman said: “If people suspect students are fly-tipping outside privately-rented residencies, they should report it to the borough council who are empowered to investigate and issue sanctions.

"If students are found to be guilty of an offence by the council’s investigative team, they could also face disciplinary measures from the university.”

A council spokesman added: “We would urge people to report any fly-tips directly to us through our ‘report it’ tool.

“Our neighbourhood wardens and enforcement officers thoroughly investigate each incident and, where they are able to gather sufficient evidence, will issue fixed-penalty notices or take the matter through the courts.

“We engage directly with landlords over these issues, which can result in tenants’ deposits being withheld if they are found to be in breach of their rental agreements.”

Visit http://selfserve.northampton.gov.uk/mycouncil/reportIt.html to report any environmental issues.