THURROCK Labour Leader Oliver Gerrish successfully led calls at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday (28th June) for an overhaul of the council’s approach to dealing with fly tipping in private alleyways around the borough.
The motion, submitted by Cllr Gerrish, called for a full member-led review of the current policy and was passed unanimously.
Councillor Gerrish said “This is a problem that’s too big to sweep under the carpet. Frankly, it is getting worse every month. More and more residents are waking up to rubbish dumped in their alleys, and the council’s response on how it is dealt with has been somewhat inconsistent.
“We need to do better than this – we need a clear and consistent policy, we need to explore more innovative approaches, and we need to set clear guidance on what the council can and cannot do.”
Residents have found themselves increasingly frustrated recently as the council have either refused to deal with fly tipping, or cleared it and landed unsuspecting homeowners with large bills for the cleanup. Requests for payment were later labelled a “mistake” by the administration. However, it has added to the sense of confusion around the council’s strategy.
Cllr Gerrish continued, “We must play our part as community leaders – to recognise the scale of the problem and suggest ways we might tackle it. That requires the involvement of members from all political parties – we need to get our heads together and make some progress. Unless we have the ambition to try, nothing will ever change.”
The policy review is expected to be undertaken by the council’s Cleaner, Greener and Safer Overview & Scrutiny Committee later this year.
Many Local Authorities have erected gates in private alleyways with only residents and utilities holding keys. Simple solution to reduce flytipping. The only flytipping once gates are erected will be from residents chucking their waste over their fences.