Burnley councillor’s fly-tipping despair as 'unacceptable anti-social behaviour' called out

Liberal Democrat Coun. Gordon Birtwistle was called out by a local resident to Cleaver Street in Burnley to witness rotting rubbish in the area. The Coalclough with Deerplay representative was shocked by what he saw and smelled and has reported it to the council.

The authority’s leader and local Bank Hall ward councillor Afrasiab Anwar has joined Cllr Birtwistle in condemning the ‘unacceptable anti-social behaviour’.

Coun. Birtwistle said: “I was asked by a local resident of Cleaver Street if I could call and experience the mess and accompanying smell of rubbish rotting in the back street of Ribblesdale Street and Bar Street. I was disappointed at what confronted me. The council are constantly cleaning the area but it appears to be a losing battle. This not about criticising the council or the ward councillors, it is about the despair I and residents feel about this repeated fly-tipping. I have reported the issue which will be sorted out and hopefully won’t arise again.

“One elderly resident near Cleaver Street said she had lived there for 40 years and said it used to be a lovely place but said she was now in despair at the repeated dumping of rubbish in the back alley

Coun. Anwar said: “Our contractors Urbaser are out every day cleaning the borough’s streets. Sadly, in some areas we clean streets and within a few days they are back in the same state as they were before.

“It’s unacceptable anti-social behaviour on the part of a minority that make life miserable for everyone. The council takes a strong approach towards anyone caught fly-tipping or littering.

“In the last 12 months alone our enforcement team has issued 47 fixed penalties in the vicinity of Cleaver Street, ranging from £80 to £400, to people who failed to manage their waste correctly.

“Unfortunately, for a small minority the message still doesn’t seem to be getting through. We will continue to take action against anyone caught fly-tipping. Our teams will go out and clean this area, again, and keep cleaning it regularly but it’s frustrating for everyone, residents and the council, to see this happening.

“We’ll continue to work with residents and landlords to help tackle these issues. As councillors we are regularly out across the ward logging jobs and engaging with residents. “People can help us by reporting those they believe are responsible for fly tipping through the LoveCleanStreets phone app.”