Anger over rubbish dumped in woodland

The scourge of flytipping at a Fife woodland has been highlighted after mattresses and a fridge were dumped.

A campaign group set up to preserve the grassland at Calais Muir woods said the council and developers had to show “leadership” over fly-tipping.

Martin Willcocks, from the Save the Calais Woods Wildlife campaign, said the issue is constant.

Locals have complained to Fife Council recently about the rubbish, which one person branded an “eyesore”, but Martin explained that because the site is not owned by the council it is the responsibility of the landowner.

Responding to one complaint, Fife Council said: “As this is not Fife Council land we will not remove any rubbish.

“I will get in contact again to advise and ask if they can get the gates secured to stop people entering this site.”

In one picture, a fridge can be seen dumped alongside a sofa, whilst others show mattresses scattered across the area.

Martin said: “We’ve been pursuing this for a while.

“Because the site is open, people are coming in and fly-tipping whatever they can.

“There is also debris scattered around the site from building works.

“The lack of enforcement and leadership is ridiculous. We need people to get to take action.

“People know this is a welcoming place to come, but they see this part of land that just continually has debris left all over it.”

Fife councillor Ross Anderson said fly-tipping was a problem wherever it happened and said he thought more work was needed to educate people on the impact.

The Save Calais Woods Wildlife Campaign wants to see the area, which is earmarked for development, preserved for the sake of the wildlife.

Plans for the area include 193 new homes, which the group says could put wildlife in the area at risk of disappearing.

It is the latest in a spate of fly-tipping across Fife.

Last month authorities highlighted asbestosridden materials which had been dumped across Fife.

At the time there had been 13 instances in the first three months of 2021 alone.

PROBLEM: Rubbish left dumped at Calais Muir Woods in Fife is a constant issue according to a local campaign group.

Mattresses and white goods have been dumped at the Fife beauty spot.