Page Hall rubbish: Drastic action considered as Sheffield streets left 'trashed' with litter

A councillor says 'nothing is off the table' in efforts to clean up a Sheffield estate after new photos showed streets there again left 'trashed'.

A reader shared these shocking photos of litter-strewn streets in Page Hall, including Popple Street, Robey Street and Lloyd Street.

Piles of black bin bags can be seen dumped outside homes, with several split open and spilling their contents; discarded furniture is shown blocking the pavement; and a mattress is pictured dumped in the undergrowth.

A video shows a large rat emerging near a doorway, with the litter believed to be attracting rodents to the area. Burngreave councillor Mark Jones, whose ward includes Page Hall and who is deputy chair of Sheffield Council's Waste & Street Scene Policy Committee, told The Star the mess was unacceptable and drastic action is now being considered to tackle the long-running problem.

That includes knocking down properties on the 'overcrowded' estate and rebuilding if funding can be secured from the Government's Levelling Up department.

Coun Jones said the council had tried for years to engage with people on the estate and while he was grateful to those who do dispose of their rubbish responsibly too many people were showing a 'lack of respect' to their neighbours by filling the streets with rubbish.

He told The Star he recognised some residents faced difficulties due to the large numbers of people living in 'overcrowded' properties, 'absentee' landlords and 'abuse' of the housing stock by 'criminal elements'.

But he said the council had repeatedly tried to reach out to offer support, including extra bins where needed, yet people were failing to take up the offer and continuing to dump their rubbish.

"I get that some people are struggling with their waste and that's an issue but if you put it on the street you're showing a lack of respect to your neighbours," he said.

"It's not fair on those people who are doing the right thing that they come out and see the streets trashed."

He added: "Nothing's off the table anymore including wholescale redevelopment of the area.

"We've had civil servants involved in Levelling Up come to the area to talk to us about what can be done. It's not something we can put on the tax payers of Sheffield. We would need government support."

Coun Jones told The Star how the council holds regular meetings with residents about problems with litter in Page Hall.

He said 'many, many' fines have been issued for littering and fly-tipping, a garden waste trial where skips were placed on the streets had been run to help 'clear the congestion' when it came to rubbish, and schoolchildren had even been out and collected 'tons and tons' of rubbish which had accumulated in gardens.

But he said residents had to take some responsibility and 'work with us', adding: "We've tried so many solutions and it's frustrating that people still aren't engaging with us."