DESPERATE BID TO TACKLE RAT INFESTATION
EXCLUSIVE: DANGEROUS STEPS TAKEN AFTER COUNCIL'S RUBBISH COLLECTIONS CEASE
RESIDENTS have taken dangerous measures to combat a rat infestation in the north of the city. A block of flats overrun with rats has caused a local to set out dangerous uncovered rat poison on Royston Road.
Pictures seen by the Glasgow Times show the extent of the problem in the building’s disgusting back close.
The council has ceased rubbish collection from the buildings citing health concerns for bin men.
Owners of the properties between 112 and 146 Royston Road have been served with statutory nuisance notices due to “an unacceptable build-up of uncontained waste” at the premises.
The council has given owners, residents and factors until tomorrow to clear up the waste or face a cleaning bill.
While the council has intervened already with bait to snare the rodents, residents have taken matters into their own hands, with exposed poison and traps laid out on the busy street.
Deadly pellets were scattered on the street to kill the rats, despite the threat to pets and playing children.
On Friday, there was a trap set with peanut butter laid beside a wheelie-bin next to a newsagents.
Most of the flats in one of the infested closes are operated by Malhotra & Partners, which claims there has been ongoing issues with both the council refusing to collect waste and local youths stealing bins. The letting agents insisted neither it nor the factor, Kyleforth Ltd, were to blame.
A spokeswoman for Malhotra claimed bins were regularly stolen and set on fire and that rubbish was dumped in the back court by “unknown” residents and on the street in front by workers in the neighbouring shops and takeaway.
She added that Kyleforth Ltd “continually” picked up the costs of cleaning and clearing the back court.
One woman who lives in the flats across the road described the “disgusting” conditions.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she had seen people throwing rubbish out their windows.
She added: “There’s no facilities, so there’s mattresses, there’s couches – it’s like a rubbish tip. It’s no surprise there’s rats in the back courts.
“We see about eight and 10 a night, in the space of half an hour.”
She spoke to a man who had a rat enter his kitchen through a hole in the wall.
A dead rat was suspended over a discarded piece of railing left in a grass verge in front of the building.
The corpse of another large rodent was found on the street at
the corner of Provanhill Street which circles the back court.
The court itself is carpeted with loose waste and bulk items, including mattresses and bed frames.
Arti Malhotra-Hope, of Malhotra & Partners, accused the council of running an “ineffective” bulk uplift service and suggested that this worsens the piles of waste behind the building, exacerbating the infestation of rodents.
A spokesman for the council said:
“Until the waste at these premises is cleared, residents will be expected to present their bins to the street for collection.
“Our pest control team has also been working at these addresses and bait has been laid down to deal with the pest problem.
“The bait used was securely within a bait box and it was clearly indicated that it contains poison.”
He said the council was not responsible for the rat poison which had been scattered on nearby streets and that it was cleared after the council was notified of its presence.
He added: “Householders have a basic responsibility to ensure their premises are kept in good order and also to ensure they have enough bins for the waste they routinely produce.
“However, as part of our £6.5million bin replacement programme, we will be providing additional bin capacity at these addresses.”