Council candidate calls for action as 30 per cent of Barnsley’s fly tipping plagues two wards

Data obtained by councillor Philip Wright, who represents Kingstone, and Lib Dem candidate for Kingstone, Steve Bullcock, shows that last year there were 357 incidents of fly tipping in the Kingstone Ward and 191 incidents in the neighbouring Central Ward

The two wards account for 30 per cent of fly tipping across Barnsley.

Mr Bullcock told the local democracy reporting service that there is ‘no sign’ of the problem improving.

He added: “We simply cannot go on as we are.

“We are encouraging vermin, devaluing properties and deterring investors.

“This cost was over £250,000 last year. If we can reduce that figure money could be spent on other areas to help the people of the town”.

“More education on dealing with waste is needed, alongside bin surveys to ensure residents, tenants and landlords have enough appropriate bins in place and are compliant in dealing with waste properly.”

Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, said: “Barnsley Council takes a zero-tolerance approach to those criminals who fly-tip their waste on our streets and in our green spaces and will always take robust enforcement action, including fines, prosecutions, and crushing vehicles involved. My message to fly-tippers is clear: you will face justice for inflicting this appalling blight upon our communities.

“We are vigilant in identifying fly-tipping in known hotspot areas and would like to thank residents who are proactive in reporting fly-tipping to us so that it can be cleared and investigated. We are committed to encouraging individuals to play their part in responsible waste disposal including ensuring that those handling waste are properly licensed and regulated and we do work with communities to improve education around appropriate use of recycling bins.

“Barnsley Council is also working with our area councils and the incredible network of volunteers who are pivotal to keeping our borough clean and green. We are designing our Litter and Environmental Crime Strategy, which will develop innovative solutions to how we protect our community and which has the voices of volunteers and communities right at its heart.