Sense of community ‘eroded away’ in fly-tipping hotspot

A fly-tipping hotspot in Dukinfield has left one man frustrated by how much of a ‘dump’ his town has become.

Peter Potts has a garage on Lime Street, just off the main strip of King Street in the Tameside town. In the past six months it has become a spot for fly-tippers to dump their rubbish, much to the upper Dukinfield resident’s annoyance.

He’s even had to clear rubbish other people have dumped in front of his garage, just to access it.

Peter said: “I’ve been reporting the same fly-tipping issue since November last year. While the rubbish usually gets cleared within a day or two after I raise it, the problem returns week after week — with zero long-term solution in place.

“For the past six weeks, I deliberately stopped reporting it just to see what would happen. Unsurprisingly, nothing did and now the rubbish is worse than ever. 

“I’ve even had to move dumped waste just to access my own garage. It feels like the system only works when residents complain. 

“Why aren’t the council teams or bin crews reporting this when they pass it every week? I’ve emailed the Tameside Council fly-tipping contact multiple times and never had a single reply.”

But the problem of rubbish dumping doesn’t just relate to the area around his garage, Peter says it’s a Dukinfield issue in particular. He wants to see more security cameras put up so the council can crack down on the perpetrators.

He also suggests bigger bins with an allocated place to put them as a possible solution for the local authority. 

“There are always bins all over the place though and people leave rubbish everywhere,” Peter added. “It’s just what happens now.

“It’s like the broken window theory, so when people see rubbish everywhere, they dump some as well. Dukinfield is a dump now, especially the bottom end.

“I used to live two streets away from Lime Street where my garages are. Around three quarters of the homes around there are HMOs now. 

“People around there don’t take pride in their area. There was a sense of community before, now that’s gone, it’s eroded away.”

In repsonse, a Tameside Council spokesperson said: ‘’Fly tipping is illegal and dangerous, we do not tolerate it in Tameside. We always take enforcement action when an offender can be identified and encourage support from residents to prosecute them. 

“The latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs show that in 2023/24 we issued 236 fixed penalty notices for fly tipping – more than anywhere else in the north west. 

“In the same year, five people were prosecuted for waste related offences. 

“To ensure waste is safely removed and the crime can be investigated, residents can report incidents online at www.tameside.gov.uk/flytipping or contact our customer service team on 0161 342 8355.’’

Rubbished dumped on Lime Street, Dukinfield. Credit: Peter Potts

Rubbished dumped on Lime Street, Dukinfield. Credit: Peter Potts