An appeal has gone out to Stretford residents to ‘stop using fly-by-night men with vans’ to remove their rubbish. Councillors in the Longford ward have made the plea as a result of persistent fly-tipping in an isolated area on Hawthorn Road under the bridge carrying the historic Bridgewater Canal.
A small car park next to Turn Moss playing fields has also been hit by the rogue fly-tippers. When the Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the area with Coun Sarah Haughey and Judith Lloyd a settee and several black bin bags had been dumped in the car park.
A mattress and other garbage under the bridge were recently photographed by Coun Haughey before it was later removed by Trafford council. Ironically, the area used by walkers, dog walkers, cyclists and runners, is right on the doorstep of Stretford tip.
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“It only costs £30 for large items like settees and mattresses to be taken away but the council,” said Coun Haughey. “The problem is that fly-by-night men with vans will undercut that and just dump it in places like this, with no regard for the environment. It’s disgraceful.
Coun Lloyd added: “This is a lovely area - a fantastic amenity for Stretford - and a great place to live. But people living here are sick of this fly-tipping.”
One local resident, who did not wish to be named, said he and his wife had picked up rubbish and walked it to the tip, but that they are not allowed to dump it there because they are not in a vehicle.
“You are also restricted as to how many visits you can make to the tip in a year, which might be part of the problem,” he said.
Another resident said: “This has been going on for years. It’s an easy target because it’s so isolated here.”
However, Coun Haghey said she didn’t believe the Stretford tip restrictions were a factor.
“Because of the cost of living crisis, people just don’t want to pay the £30 to have their big items moved legitimately, which is very unfortunate.”
Meanwhile, on the Friends of Turn Moss Facebook page there are numerous instances reported of rubbish being dumped on Hawthorn Road going back several years.
A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “There’s no excuse for fly-tipping and we’ll go after anyone we find blighting our neighbourhoods.
“If you have any domestic waste that won’t fit it into a bin, you can take it to a waste disposal site for free. We’re proud of our borough and we’ll do all we can to keep it clean and tidy.”
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