Fly-tipped waste blocks business premises

The pile of tree branches was dumped on Plume Street in Aston, Birmingham

A business owner has had access to his premises blocked by a pile of fly-tipped waste.

John Kemp, owner of haulage firm JH Kemp Ltd, operates from a base on Plume Street in Aston, Birmingham.

He said he returned to work after the bank holiday to discover a pile of branches and leaves in front of his business, and complained that Birmingham City Council had not yet removed it despite it being reported.

Birmingham City Council said people who dumped waste were environmental criminals, adding that it investigated incidents and pursued enforcement action.

Mr Kemp said he had reviewed CCTV from the site and saw a truck tipping the waste on Saturday.

“We phoned the council, it’s still there now and will probably be there until the end of the week,” he said.

He added that he had not been given any further update by the council as to when the dumped material would be removed.

Mr Kemp said he had to ask staff to start early or finish late in order to work at times when there was less traffic on the road, as the blockage has made it more difficult to access his yard.

“Realistically, it causes more time to do what we have to do,” he said, adding that he was incurring additional costs for staff time as a result.

Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment, said the responsibility for the problem sat with the culprits who dumped the waste.

“Those who dump waste on public or private land are quite simply environmental criminals, who are expecting others in our city to foot the bill for the disposal of their rubbish and unwanted items,” he said.

“There is no excuse for this anti-social behaviour, which shows no regard for the surroundings in which we all have to live and work - there are many legitimate ways to get rid of waste, including our household recycling centres that have plenty of capacity.”