On a visit to the Orrell Mount estate in Bootle, a large pile of rubbish was visible at the entrance, including building rubble, furniture, an old wireless radio, cardboard boxes, plant pots and tubs of paint. Workers on the estate said the problem was affecting their business.
Andy Wilson, director of Oriel Studios signage and display company, said: “It prevents our clients from wanting to come and visit us. It prevents us asking them as well.” Another member of the Oriel Studios team added: “You’ve also got problems with vermin in the rubbish. You feel angry when you drive past it. It’s a constant battle.”
Fly-tipping every two to three days
Ian McClelland, who runs vehicle repair workshop Freeport Commercial Ltd with his brother John, said fly-tipping “happens probably every two to three days. Now there is rubbish there which has been there for probably a week and a half.” He said gas canisters had been dumped and described this as an environmental hazard.
“Some gas canisters have been dumped, which is obviously an environmental hazard. I’m worried about that,” he said. “It is a state. You wouldn’t believe it. It’s just accumulating now, so when it’s windy, it’s blowing all the way down. Even the drains are blocked by it.”
Privately-owned lay-by
Sefton Council said the lay-by where the rubbish is dumped is privately owned. The landlords have been contacted and encouraged to clear the site and cut back overgrown trees shielding it from the road. Investigations into incidents on the estate are ongoing. However, Ian said he does not know whether that has happened.
“This situation has now become unacceptable,” he said. “Despite raising these concerns on several occasions, the problem continues to worsen. If the council are actually doing things about it, can they just show us that they’re actually prosecuting people?” He also questioned why rubbish on the road was not being cleared, saying: “Apparently, the land is not owned by the council, but if there’s stuff on the road as well, why are they not picking that up? That is their responsibility.” He added: “There are also overgrown weeds everywhere. It’s just not a good thing. And you would think that the council would want to promote a nice clean Sefton, but I don’t think they have that attitude.”
Businesses monitoring CCTV
With fly-tipping so regular, Ian said businesses are now keeping an eye on their CCTV cameras. “Even if a car parks, we’re leaving work to go to make sure that they’re not dumping. This is obviously disrupting quite a lot of our business.” In the past few days, the Freeport Commercial team captured an image of a van involved with fly-tipping at the site, including its number plate.
Ian described the situation as “embarrassing”, adding: “Obviously, I don’t have meetings in work. I tend to go to their [client's] offices now. You obviously don’t want to see a customer coming and seeing what we’re seeing daily ourselves. It's a shame.” He said he and his brother John are “just two young brothers from the area, and we’ve spent quite a lot of money on our business. We employ quite a lot of people. It doesn’t take much, does it, to just put things in the bin?” He believed the dumping is being done by “man and a van” services without a permit, who “dump wherever they can”.
“Obviously, they’ve found a nice hot spot where we work. As members of the local community, we should all be working together to tackle fly-tipping and make the area a cleaner, safer and more pleasant place to live and work,” he added.
Council response
Cllr Peter Harvey, Sefton Cabinet member for cleansing and street scene, said the council understands the ongoing fly-tipping at Orrell Mount is affecting local businesses and is continuing to take robust action. A community protection warning has been issued to the landowner, requesting vegetation is cut back to make the area more visible and less attractive to fly-tippers.
He said Environmental Enforcement officers inspect the site daily for evidence. “Since the last news report, there have been at least six further incidents of fly-tipping, with evidence found in three cases and investigations are ongoing. One case has already resulted in an individual losing their job.”
Harvey said the council is also working with Merseyside Police to identify another offender through vehicle registration evidence linked to illegal waste dumping. Street Cleansing teams continue to clear the site, but waste is still being dumped.
“Across Sefton, we have invested an additional £1m this year to tackle fly-tipping through measures including CCTV, increased fines, a larger enforcement team and partnership working. At Orrell Mount continued monitoring will be undertaken to identify those responsible for the fly tipping. This robust approach is delivering results, with around 10 fines issued every month. Fly-tipping remains a national challenge, but we are tackling it and holding offenders to account. While this is a complex case involving multiple agencies, we will continue to use every power available to resolve the issue and prevent fly-tipping at this location now and in the future.”
