Fury over the A71 flytippers
Calls for action to tackle dumping
A fed-up resident this week branded roads surrounding Allanton as the “dumping ground of Lanarkshire”.
John Williamson believes the roads running from Allanton to Newmains are “disgraceful” due to piles of rubbish lying by the roadside.
The 62- year- old has hit out at rubbish dumped near Allanton Road on the A71 towards Shotts.
Now he is urging the council to step in and clear the rubbish after his requests have fallen on deaf ears.
John, of Newark Gate, Allanton, said: “I’ve been trying to get someone from the council to come up and clear the roads but I’ve been told time and time again that due to budget cuts they can’t come out.
“We’ve became the dumping ground of Lanarkshire and most of the roads near Shotts are an embarrassment.
“It appears the council are clearing the roads en route to Wishaw, but don’t seem to care about the roads near Allanton “I think it’s a disgrace. “I know they’ve been cutting back but they should still want the area to look as good as they can.
“The dumped rubbish is not a good reflection on our community.
“I’ll take it to the council again in the hope they finally do something about it, but it is likely to fall on deaf ears again.”
Following the Wishaw Press’s intervention, the council have vowed to clear up the rubbish.
Gordon Bruce, the council’s assistant business manager, said: “The servicing of rural roads remains a problem due to dwindling resources, however, we do try to litter pick it all verges at least once a year.
“An inspection of the verges has been carried out, and remedial work will be carried out over the next three weeks.
“Litter picking on rural road verges requires a degree of traffic management to be in place while the work is being carried out; clearly this wouldn’t be required if people simply took their rubbish home.”
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