Fly-tipping shows lack of community spirit - councillor

Fly-tipping incidents around the Paston and Walton area of Peterborough have been called "unacceptable" by the local councillor Alex Rafiq

A city councillor has said fly-tipping in an area reflects a "lack of community spirit".

Alex Rafiq, Conservative councillor for Paston and Walton in Peterborough, visited Baxter Close and saw several piles of rubbish, including dozens of bags dumped beneath a sign which stated 'no fly-tipping'.

He said it was "absolutely unacceptable" and called on the residents to take more responsibility.

The properties on Baxter Close are managed by Amplius housing association, which said it had been "working hard to deal with fly-tipping" and had recently installed CCTV cameras to help tackle the problem.

Alex Rafiq said some of the rubbish was dumped under a 'no fly-tipping' sign

"I believe the residents have a lot to do with this," Rafiq said.

"Amplius have spent a lot of money on magnetic locks and fob systems and they've been broken straight away."

An Amplius spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Some of the measures we have taken include carrying out major refurbishments to the bin stores, complete with extra security, but these have since been vandalised.

"CCTV cameras have also been installed, and these are due to be connected this week.

"Moving forward, staff will be able to review any instances of fly-tipping as and when required.

"In addition to these measures, we've also carried out weekly clearances of the site and are in regular contact with councillor Rafiq to find ways we can work with residents and our partners to deter people from fly-tipping in this area."

Earlier this year, the latest government statistics revealed that Peterborough had the highest number of fly-tipping incidents across the East of England.

The Peterborough City Council area had 46 incidents per 1,000 people.

Last year, as part of a nationwide scheme to target fly-tipping hotspots, the authority was given just under £50,000 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which has been spent on CCTV cameras and campaigns.