Landowner puts up fence to stop fly-tipping

A planning application states fly-tipping at the site has increased over the last 18 months

A landowner said he has been forced to put up a metal fence to stop people dumping rubbish on his plot in Bradford.

Sajid Ali Baig said the 5ft 9ins (1.8m) fence was erected to stop anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping on his land in Laisterdyke.

He put up the barrier earlier this year and has now put in a retrospective planning application to Bradford Council to retain it.

Mr Baig said disruptive behaviour and littering had increased at the site over the last 18 months "as people tend to not go the local waste disposal site".

The planning application stated regular bonfires at the site had burnt the ground

He added the land, at the junction of Blanche Street and Pawson Street, was just half a mile (0.8km) from Bowling Back Lane tip, but people "dump their household waste" at his site instead.

In his planning application, Mr Baig said he was currently "evaluating the future use of the site" and had plans which would be "exciting and stimulating" for the community.

The document stated he had owned the land since 2004 and only a handful of incidents had taken place prior to the last 18 months.

However, it said the fence had been erected at "great expense" to "protect immediate neighbours from injuries", after "young adults had gathered at the site and lit fires".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the application promised the site and surrounding buildings "would not suffer any detrimental effect through the proposed works".

It added Mr Baig was willing to invest in the development of the site to "positively enhance the local and wider area".

A decision is expected later this month.