Woodside Summer Fly Tipping Focus Cautiously Welcomed

Woodside Councillor Greg Spruce has cautiously welcomed the news that council bosses are mobilising a new Community Action Team to Woodside in August and promising an increase in presence from Enforcement Officers to tackle fly tipping.

"I have been campaigning alongside Woodside residents for months for action on fly-tipping," said Cllr Spruce. "It is brilliant that the council top brass have started to take notice. This is a step in the right direction, but we really need action beyond August and a long term strategy."

Cllr Spruce also emphasised that the new initiative does not address the cost of bulky item collection nor the difficulty for many residents to take their waste to the recycling centre at Halesfield.

"Residents in Woodside are tired of the daily blight of fly-tipping," emphasised Cllr Spruce. "We recognise that the cost of collections is a factor which is why we launched a petition to demand action. One of our demands was more signage, and this looks like it is going ahead. However, we also demanded bulky collection fees be scrapped for people on certain state benefits to make it easier to dispose of waste responsibly. That fight goes on."

Following previous correspondence with Cllr Richard Overton, Cabinet Member for Enforcement, in February, Cllr Spruce will now follow up on the latest announcement to obtain more detail on future plans to tackle fly-tipping in Woodside. Cllr Spruce has expressed his sincere thanks to all residents who have joined the campaign.

"I cannot thank residents enough for getting behind this campaign. This is only a step in the right direction, but it shows we have got the council to start listening. This shows the power of community campaigning. And the fight goes on!"

If you wish to sign the petition you can do here