Campaign to clear litter from railway is a success
COUNCILLORS hope the success of a campaign to clear litter and fly-tipping from land near a railway line will lead to a change in how it is managed.
A campaign was launched last year in Abercynon by ward councillors Rhys Lewis and Elaine George to get Network Rail to clear the land near the rugby club and along Park Road, which they say was in poor condition.
And since a number of stretches of land which were in the worst condition have been cleaned, they say they hope that this will lead to a change in approach from Network Rail in how it manages its land. Cllrs Lewis and George put together a report with maps of the worst instances of fly-tipping and littering on Network Rail land in the area as part of their request for action to be taken.
Cllr Lewis said: “We welcome this action by Network Rail and hope that the recent clean-up works signal a change in the way the organisation manages the land in its ownership.
“Our community better.
“We would like to thank deserves residents for their assistance. Our campaign will continue along with our commitment to cleaning up the green spaces in our community.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Our maintenance team recently cleared litter from a number of sites in Abercynon following a request from local councillors.
“Each year, we remove tonnes of litter from the railway in Wales and Borders.
“This comes at a significant cost to the taxpayer and could be avoided if all residents took their rubbish to a bin or nearest recycling centre.”