Banbury residents make it their mission to clear fly-tipping from road

Children of Lidsey Road with the pile of fly-tipped rubbish they collected.

Residents of a Banbury road plagued by fly-tipping have made it their mission to tidy up the area.

The residents of Lidsey Road were tired of seeing a parking place and patch of grassland on their road turned into an eyesore with consistent fly tipping and abandoned vehicles, so they took matters into their own hands, tidied up the waste and pressured the council to act.

The corner section of the road, which was designed for two vehicle spaces, had been the site of illegal fly-tipping and dumping of commercial waste since early last year and was affecting their lives, as some residents claim they were unable to sell their properties due to the amount of rubbish.

The council was able to collect the waste infrequently, but due to the type of rubbish that had been left there and the vehicles that were blocking much of the access, they were unable to completely clear the area of the mess.

Due to the fly-tipped waste and dumped vehicles the council were unable to cut back the grass and hedges.

Resident of Lidsey Road, Marian, said: "I’ve been living in the street for about 13 years, and most people on the street have been here a while so we look after each other and try to keep the area clean.

"When we cleaned this corner of the street, we found a lot of building materials but also a lot of things which were dangerous for the children who play on the street.”

Due to the rubbish piled up on the grass and vehicles permanently dumped on the land, it also meant that the children of the area were forced to walk dangerously in the road on their way to and from school.

The residents and children of the street spent a day last year tidying and bagging the rubbish into neat piles for the district council to collect, restoring the area to what it was and reclaiming pride in their road.

Thanks to the hard work by the residents the district council were able to give the area a good tidy and cut the grass and hedge.

After a few months and pressure from some of the residents, the council took action to remove the vehicles and send in a team to tidy up the collected rubbish and more that had been dumped since the clean.

Marian said: "It’s a positive story, and the council thankfully cleaned the site completely, cutting the hedges and grass. It looks very different now. I just hope it will remain like it this time."

A spokesperson for Cherwell District Council said: "We understand the nuisance and distress that fly-tipping causes to residents, who rightly expect public areas to be presentable and free from waste. The council is aware of periodic problems with fly-tipping at Lidsey Road, and any incidents where evidence was found were fully investigated. Responsibility for grass cutting and clearing waste on the land in question sits with Cherwell District Council.

"Illegal waste disposal is an offence punishable by fixed penalty notices or prosecution in a magistrates’ or crown court. Because of this, councils need to be able to prove offenders' guilt beyond reasonable doubt before taking any formal enforcement action. Anyone with information about this or another a fly-tip in the district should contact the council on 01295 227007."