Redlands Liberal Democrats

Fly tipping and Bulky Bob

I was on the Hexham Estate yesterday, looking at the ongoing fly tipping problem. One of the disheartening things about it is that much of the stuff thrown away as "useless" is actually perfectly fine - it just is no longer needed by its owners. TVs, fridges, furniture, all going to waste.

Thrown onto the grass, or left in stairwells, it's just so much junk, but if there was a way of getting unwanted goods to people who need them, that would be great wouldn't it? Well, in Lib Dem controlled Liverpool, there is! Step forward Bulky Bob's, who will collect bulky household items for free and, where possible, pass them onto new users. Not only good for the environment, but good for the pocket - I understand the service does pretty well in covering its cost.

We advocate a similar scheme for Reading which, given its compact nature (transport costs are always important) would be especially suited for it.

Reclaiming Donnington Road

Since I reported the ongoing problem of a skip full of junk on Donnington Road a few weeks ago,  RBC have contacted me to say that officers this week visited the site and instructed the builders responsible to clean up their act sharpish.

Thankfully some of the dumped items have now been removed, but we will be monitoring the area closely to ensure that this skip and any associated rubbish it attracts does not outstay its welcome.

Doing something about flytipping on Eldon Terrace

I have been in touch with James Rosewell, the dynamic Chair of the Newtown Neighbourhood Action Group asking for the NAG's help in tackling repeat flytipping in a office car park on Eldon Terrace by Town Place. This problem is ongoing and I have raised the matter several times with RBC to know avail.

The difficulty is that it is on private land. Officers have written to the car park owners but so far nothing has happened. Speaking to local residents recently I heard that the culprits appear to be not office workers but people from outside the area who drive to the area to dump their rubbish.

Kirsten and Glenn spoke to residents in the new houses on Eldon Terrace about the problem last weekend: what a shame for those people who have just moved in to this lovely Conservation area.

Anyway, James has promised me that the issue will be discussed at the NAG meeting on 24 April at 7pm. I hope that the NAG may be able to tackle this via a partnership approach i.e. Police + Council + local residents.

Anyone who sees flytipping anyway in the ward should report it to the Council and the Police via their anti-social behaviour hotline: 0845 8 505 505 giving them the exact location of the problem and a brief description of what has been dumped.

The reality of charging too much for bulky waste in Reading

An article in Today's Post highlights the continuing problem of flytipping of large items of furniture and rubbish in front gardens across Newtown and Redlands.

Although Kirsten and I have been banging on about these problems for ages, I find it ironic that it has taken work by the Police Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAGs) in these areas to highlight these longstanding problems to the Council.  The problem is concentrated around properties that are rented out by private landlords, and it is certainly a big one.

When Redlands residents were consulted as part of the launch of Neighbourhood Policing in the ward last year, environmental issues came out as the second most important crime issue to people living in the neighbourhood. This shows the level of concern about the state of our streets. I'm not sure though whether it should be down to the Police and local residents to clean up this mess.

Despite the sterling work done by the Council's much needed and under-resourced licensing team to remind landlords of their responsibilities, the problem continues unabated around Redlands and much of central Reading.

As things stand it is very difficult for RBC's Streetcare team to do much about rubbish left in front gardens as it is private property. As residents in these neighbourhoods know, rubbish left by landlords and others often sits there for weeks and even months. The worst time of year in Redlands and the University area is the end of the University term in the summer where landlords routinely dump unwanted furntiture and other household items on to front gardens.

However, the problem of flytipping however is not just restricted to the terraced areas of East Reading.

When I attended the North Whitley NAG's Environmental Visual Audit (EVA) of Hexham Estate last week, bulky waste and rubbish left in gardens was probably the most common problem we encountered.

Frustratingly, the most RBC officers could do was to issue warning letters to those residents who had rubbish dumped in their gardens. There was nothing to stop people doing the flytipping doing the same thing again.

The same problem can be seen in business or commercial properties - often the target of flytippers.The process of getting the dumped rubbish in an office car park on Eldon Terrace which I reported a few weeks ago a) removed b) the offender charged for the cost of removal is complicated by the fact that the rubbish is on privately-owned land.

So what is to be done? As I've written here before, I feel strongly that the Council should rethink it's bulky waste policy. There may be a place for charging for waste collection such as for green waste, but I do think that the charges need to be set sensitvely to ensure that those on low or fixed incomes can afford to pay them. If charges are set to high...well the results are there for all to see.

There is also a big question mark over what happens when residents and or landlords refuse to pay the Council's charges and then decide to dump rubbish in gardens and elsewhere. People are doing this and in many places getting away with it and it may not be related to their ability to pay the charge.

If rubbish that is left on streets and pavements in Reading ends up getting collected anyway, is it surprising some people try and get away with out paying extra for collections?

I'm not convinced that the Council's increased revenues from bulky waste collections make up for some of our neighbourhoods being used as regular dumping grounds. It appears I'm not alone. Residents in Dee Park raised the issue back in 2004. The Labour Councillor with responsibilties for waste collections at the time said reverting back to the old policy of free waste collection was "not an option".

I wonder if Reading's Labour councillors (particularly those up for election in May) who represent neighbourhoods that have been hit by flytipping feel the same way about this charging policy now.

Redlands catch-up

Daisy and I haven't posted an update here for the last month, for which many apologies.
We have been keeping pretty busy! Here is a quick summary of what has been happening...

IDR - the planned one-way IDR has been shelved, and the traffic problems in Reading have been placed into a wide-ranging transport commission involving ourselves and Labour. The Conservatives have so far been rather on-again, off-again on the proposed review, but we still hope they will participate. Traffic problems are complex and all voices need to be heard.

Glass and Food Waste Petition - thanks so much to everyone who has signed it online and in person. We are printing and distributing more forms: it's unacceptable that most people in the area have no nearby bottlebanks, yet there is no kerbside collection of glass. Recent MP committee reports make it clear just how unacceptable fortnightly collection of food waste is. We will keep pushing for the much needed policy review (which some people will no doubt try to present as all their idea...)

End of term tipping - it's such a shame that many of the gardens in some streets in the Ward have become dumping places for old sofas, household and building waste. We have been repeatedly reminding the Council to clear up, and it has been happening...slowly. Almost a month after the end of term, there are still gardens filled with rubbish. There has to be a better way. Daisy especially has been working hard with the Council and the University to find a solution to this depressingly predictable problem.

Neighbourhood Action Group - the Redlands NAG has been active. I was leafleting with the street wardens and Streetcare team a few weeks ago, as part of the campaign to encourage everyone to report crime and antisocial behaviour in the area. It can be discouraging to report issues and then not see an immediate response, but the Police do rely on reporting to target resources, and every report is captured and analysed: spotting patterns can greatly help the Police capture people in the act.

Planning Enforcement - thankyou to everyone who has reported potential planning breaches to Daisy and me. Please keep them coming! I believe that the Planning system only works if there is impartial but rigorous enforcement, and there are a number of streets in the area which are under pressure from, shall we say, thoughtless development. The enforcement process can take time, but there have been some recent very satisfying results of prosecutions in Reading.