Fly-tippers strike at rural location
FLY-TIPPERS dumped old refrigerators and drums of cooking oil at a beauty spot in the latest incident of illegal waste dumping during lockdown.
Residents have expressed their anger towards the ‘vile’ offenders who dumped the rubbish on Oglet Lane, the path towards Oglet Shore near Hale Village.
According to the Bailey’s Lane Action Group, a group set up as a response to anti-social behaviour and other issues in the area, they said this is just the latest in a long line of incidents.
A spokesperson for the group said: “It [fly-tipping] was already bad, but during the Covid lockdown it’s just increased one hundredfold.
“It’s been on a massive scale recently.
“Every single weekend on Bailey’s Lane there is fly-tipping.”
The images which first appeared on the Save Oglet Shore and Greenbelt Facebook page show what followers believe are the contents of a takeaway shop being disposed of on the pathway.
The spokesperson for the action group blames the decision to close Dungeon Lane and reopen Bailey’s lane for making it easy for criminals to flytip in the area.
He said: “I think it’s local people who know the lane is open and are taking advantage of it.
“Due to the volume of the stuff being found, I think they know the police have a lot less manpower to deal with it.
“It’s an absolute drain on public resources.”
The issues stem from the part-closure of Dungeon Lane, which is part of works to extend the perimeter fence surrounding Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA).
Residents say the road was the main access point to the picturesque shore but people travelling by car now have to drive into Hale Village via Bailey’s Lane – a narrow road previously not open to through traffic which some are now using as a spot to fly-tip.
The Weekly News approached both Halton and Liverpool Councils for a response regarding the increase in fly-tipping in the area.
A spokesperson for Halton Borough Council said: “The land is situated along Oglet Lane which falls within Liverpool City Council’s boundary.
“However at the request of Cllr Mike Wharton, following reports from residents of Bailey’s Lane, on this occasion and in the interest of community safety, Halton did attend the site on Monday and cleared all the waste, despite it not necessarily being our responsibility or duty to do so.”
They went on to say that as the land is within Liverpool City Council’s boundary, Halton Council would not be authorised to take any enforcement action.
Halton Council added that it continues to liaise with colleagues at Liverpool City Council as well as local police forces and the of CCTV equipment is one of the options currently being explored.
Asked for a response, a spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “Fly-tippers have a complete disregard for the environment and the cost of clearing up their mess is a financial burden passed on to other council taxpayers.
“Fly-tipping is a relatively recent issue in this area and we are in discussions with colleagues at Halton Council about joint operations to tackle it, as well as looking at the possibility of installing CCTV.
“Oglet Lane on the Liverpool side is closed and has been for some months, but it is thought that the fly-tippers are using the entrance at Baileys Lane on the Halton end, which was recently reopened.
“Across the city, we have been extra vigilant around this issue during lockdown and have identified more than 20 individuals all of whom are being pursued through court proceedings, as well as tracking the registered keepers of vehicles where evidence points to it being used for fly-tipping.
“Anyone with information should contact us and be assured it will be treated in confidence.”