Villagers demand hotline to tackle fly-tipping

Matthew Marraner said he spent hours clearing out ditches around the Eye village

Residents frustrated with fly-tipping blighting their village called for a dedicated hotline to report the crime.

At a meeting with Peterborough City Council officers on Thursday, people living in and around Eye, Thorney, and Newborough demanded stronger deterrents, tougher fines and faster action to deal with the issue.

Val Alemanno, who has lived in the area for more than 50 years, described Eyebury Road as the "worst hotspot," with a "ridiculous" amount of rubbish being dumped.

Alex Morley, of Willow Hall Lane, said fly-tipping happens "almost daily," and claimed that offenders have even cut locks to dump waste on his private site currently under development.

'Really depressing'

Residents said truckloads of waste was dumped every week around Willow Hall Lane

Peterborough reported the highest number of fly-tips in the East of England with 128 incidents between the 2023-2024 financial year.

The next 12 months saw 450 incidents recorded across the Eye, Thorney and Newborough ward.

Volunteer litter picker Mathew Mariner, who lives in Willow Hall Lane, said large-scale commercial waste was frequently dumped, including vape packaging and rubbish from cannabis farms.

He said: "It is really depressing. What irritates me is that they throw a lot of it in the water ditches… and the council won't clear that because they are not responsible for it."

About 50 people including residents, parish and city councillors, police and NFU representatives attended a fly-tipping meeting in Eye on Thursday

Council officer Darren Sharpe told residents that fly-tips were usually removed by waste contractor Aragon within two to three days, although asbestos-contaminated waste could take longer due to specialist requirements.

However, Brian Parker from Thorney Parish Council, who also undertakes litter picking in the area, disputed this.

He said: "I understand there are issues with asbestos waste. If it is dangerous, why is it not being dealt with as high risk and left for a month now by the road?"

He also said the area was "crying out" for more bins.

Alex Morley called for cameras to be placed on either side of the hotspot roads around the Eye area

Several residents, including Mr Morley, complained that even when they provided information about offenders, no action was taken.

Local farmer William Stevenson said "having knowledge on the ground is key", and urged the council and police to work more closely with the community.

Mark Fishpool, who voluntarily clears the A47, said: " We need a dedicated phone number we can call to report flytipping."

His views were echoed by many others in the meeting room.

Some residents argued it was unfair that farmers have to bear the cost of clearing fly-tips from their land and called for more council support for the farming community.

Enforcement is hard

Val Alemanno called the council to name and shame the fly-tippers and seize their vehicles

Council officer for safer communities, Claire George, told the meeting, the council regularly places cameras in 12 locations in this area.

"People feel we are not doing enough in terms of enforcement, but it is really hard," she said.

"This year so far, we have had 23 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued, including seven prosecutions with more pending."

She said fly-tipping involved a "duty of care" and urged residents to use licensed carriers only to help minimise the issue.