Fly-tipping hotspot hit less than a week after council cleared rubbish

Residents of an Oldham neighbourhood are up in arms after being hit by fly-tipping less than a week after illegally dumped rubbish was cleared away by the council.

Werneth has been plagued by a littering scourge, according to locals who point the finger at fake waste clearing businesses. 

Residents say they are ‘sick and tired’ of old furniture and household rubbish being left at the junction of Napier Street West and Coppice St. They are calling for CCTV and tougher enforcement action by the local authority. 

The community shared their feelings after a local councillor posted an image of furniture piled up next to a council bin. Zaffer Ullah commented: “Absolutely disgusting. The culprits should be found, fined, and named shamed with their photo.” 

Another resident added they wanted to see the fly-tippers ‘caught red-handed and hit by hefty fines’. 

And Nurul Haque said: “It’s not residents. There is an industry where people are claiming to be disposing of this stuff but just dumping you on the size of the road. Sometimes the residents are genuinely paying for this to be taken away.” 

The pile has since grown, with a fridge, cabinets, and a pair of red jewelled kid’s slippers added to the mix. 

Local Councillor Shoab Akhtar slammed the state of the road as ‘absolutely disgusting’. 

He said: “The area is being targeted because we’ve had it cleared 3 times over the last month and people think it’s acceptable to dump rubbish there and the council will pick it up. 

“We need to invest in mobile cameras as well as encouraging residents to use their private CCTV coverage to cover alleyways and open spaces. We also need to increase enforcement and fine individuals.” 

Following contact by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Oldham Council confirmed they would be exploring how to strengthen enforcement action in the area.

Cllr Elaine Taylor, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “We are extremely disappointed that, following the recent removal of illegally dumped waste, further incidents of fly-tipping have occurred.

“Let us be clear, placing household or commercial waste next to a public bin is illegal and will not be tolerated.Residents are reminded that they are responsible for disposing of their waste correctly.

“Continued misuse of this area is a burden on our public services and the wider community and we urge all residents to act responsibly and report any incidents of fly-tipping.”

Fly-tipping is illegal and carries an on-the-spot fine of up to £400.