Fly-tipping

Huge rise in reports of dumped rubbish

MANCHESTER now has one of the worst fly-tipping problems of any city, the M.E.N. can reveal.

There has been a surge of complaints – up by 40 per cent – over the last three-and-a-half years.

While some other cities and the country have seen moderate rises in that time, Manchester’s has far outstripped them.

The town hall’s only opposition councillor has blamed changes on the city’s bin collections – but the council’s neighbourhoods boss says it is down to more effective reporting procedures.

We asked readers for examples of fly-tipping grot-spots and they flooded in.

Numerous people pointed to a particular site at the junction of Whitecarr Lane and Roaring Gate Lane in Wythenshawe, as well as a vacant plot off Whitby Road in Fallowfield.

But black-spots were cited all over the city, from student-heavy neighbourhoods in Withington to Harpurhey Ponds, to ginnels around Levenshulme and streets in Newton Heath, Blackley and West Didsbury.

In a short drive around the city we also found huge piles of rubbish dumped near Yew Tree Road in Moss Side, as well as a fridge in the middle of the pavement.

Many Levenshulme residents pointed to problems off the A6 and around the station, particularly in alleyways.

“Round us, there are communal bins, which are often overflowing or unemptied,” said Lev Square residents Association on Twitter.

“Most alleyways have gates, but even this doesn’t stop the dumping.”

Newton Heath resident Darren Rogan said Irlam Street had been a major problem for years.

“I’ve complained for over ten years and asked for CCTV,” he said.

“It just gets cleaned up and more stuff is dumped on a weekly basis.”

A report tabled to councillors reveals complaints about fly-tipping rose steadily during 2013, but fell back down again in summer 2014 for around a year.

The town hall puts that down to the launch of its ‘Clean City’ fund, a £14.5m pot of airport dividend money used on new public bins, community clean-ups and a range of other projects intended to make the city look better.

However, towards the end of 2015 complaints started rising again – before soaring throughout 2016 and continuing to rise last year.

According to the report, most other major cities outside of London