Bid to tackle derelict mill fails
JONATHAN GRIEVE
ABID to take legal action against landowners of a former mill blighted by fly-tipping and arson was unsuccessful.
But council bosses stress they are doing all they can to improve the state of the former Rishton Paper Mill site.
Hyndburn Council’s resources overview and scrutiny committee will receive a report focused on enforcement taken by the council in relation to the issues.
Ongoing work to tackle issues at the old paper mill in Rishton, an eyesore which blights one of the main routes into town, are detailed as part of the report. Javier Garcia, the council’s interim environmental protection manager, said: “This is an ongoing case, involving severe fly-tipping, antisocial behaviour and graffiti.
Following the closure of the paper mill in 1995, the building remained vacant until 2002, when the building was purchased for development.
“Plans for development were not obtained for approximately 10 years. During this period there were numerous cases of severe fly tipping, fires and trespass. Adjacent to the paper mill was a fishing lodge, which generated approximately £10,000 in profits for the owners, whilst the empty mill lay dormant.
“In 2014, the water at the fishing lodge became polluted, resulting in the fishing lodge ending its lease. As a consequence, the land lay derelict, attracting further antisocial behaviour nuisance, fly-tipping and trespassing.
“Various actions were taken by Hyndburn Council to prevent further issue. Following appropriate actions taken by the council, the owner’s response was to carry out minor repairs and made minor changes to comply with the notices served, however, it was deemed by the authority that sufficient action had not been taken by the owners.
“In light of the owner’s ability to frustrate the council, in 2016, Hyndburn used new powers under the Anti-Social Behaviour and Policing Act 2014, and served a legal notice.” Under this notice, it was required that the owners remove all fly-tipping, build and maintain a fence, secure the premises, cut back overhanging vegetation and allow inspections.
But the owners did not comply and the council sought legal advice, which deemed there was not enough evidence of impact on quality of life because of nuisance or harm to take action.
Mr Garcia added: “Clearly this was a learning lesson for the council when using the AntiSocial Behaviour and Policing Act 2014. The council will continue to use the most appropriate power, which is the council’s power to require proper maintenance of the land.
“While this does have an immediate effect of removing the fly-tipping, it doesn’t prevent it from happening again. This case is still under review.”
Last year, police had to close the A678 after piles of rubbish on the first floor of the mill had caught fire. Earlier this year, tyres, burned-out beds, bricks and household waste was dumped on land near the former mill off Hermitage Street.
HOMES PLAN
SHOPS - one of which was last used as a tanning salon - could be converted into homes. A row of properties at 148-152 Blackburn Road in Accrington sold at auction for £88,000 in July. An application has been submitted to Hyndburn Council proposing to split it into three terraced homes. Agent for the applicant, James Mulkerrin, said none of the other properties on the terraced row have any parking facilities and it had previously been used as housing. A decision will be made next year.