Council row over Derbyshire fly tipping road

A dispute between councils over a fly tipping black spot in Derbyshire is closer to being resolved.

Illegal dumping on Anchor Road in Langley Mill had been cleaned up by Amber Valley Borough Council for years.

But when it moved to put a gate on the highway, Nottinghamshire County Council claimed its permission was needed - so Amber Valley stopped its work.

Nottinghamshire has now said it does not own the road and Amber Valley is in talks with Derbyshire County Council.

Residents on Anchor Road have complained of items such as needles, toys, blankets, cushions, furniture, carpets and even asbestos being dumped.

In May, Amber Valley council proposed to put a gate across the entrance to limit future problems, only to be told by Nottinghamshire council it could not block a public highway it owned.

Locked gate

This led to officials from Amber Valley saying they therefore no longer had responsibility to clear up fly tipping.

After months of disagreement, Nottinghamshire has found that while it did acquire the land in the 1970s, boundary changes mean it passed back to Derbyshire County Council.

But while Derbyshire has admitted it, as highways authority, owns the road, land either side is the responsibility of the cleaning authority, Amber Valley.

The two councils are now in discussions over whether a gate can be fitted.

Councillor Jack Brown, from Amber Valley Borough Council, said: "It's been a problem for quite a while.

"We would like to gate the lane if it's possible and give the people [living] at the bottom keys so they can lock it up at night and stop people from coming and flytipping on it.

"We have done it in other areas and it's cut the fly tipping down tremendously."