Council is urged to take action and clear piles of rubbish dumped in Mixenden

Tony Woodhead, 63, is a retired teacher, who lives on Dodge Holme Drive, Mixenden and is unhappy that the pile of rubbish has not been dealt with for months.

Tony, who has lived in Mixenden for 44 years, says he has spoken to the council and the local housing association several times, but no action has been taken to remove it.

“It’s been going on now for a good three or four months, if not longer,” he said..

“I’ve been to the council, the local housing organisation, environmental health - they all said they’d do something about it, but nobody’s done anything.

“I’ve been to the housing association and the council about the fly-tipping, and nothing was done about that.

“But the rubbish behind the shops is just a breeding ground for rats, and we don’t want them here.”

Tony says the fly-tipping on the bank along Dodge Holme Drive is at least getting better due to rubbish pickers regularly attending the site.

“Everybody thinks Mixenden’s rough, it’s got that stigma attached to it,” he said.

“But it’s not, it’s a nice place to live, we have lovely views and they’re good people.

“But the people responsible seem to be of the opinion that it’s their land, so they can do what they like with it.

“But they shouldn’t be allowed to. Environmental Health got onto my cousin and said he had two weeks to shift eight bags of rubbish, otherwise he could be slapped with a heavy fine.

“But why is this still here after months?

“You’re banging your head against a brick wall. I’ve run Environmental Health loads of times, I’ve been down to town a load of times, but it’s still there.

“It needs moving. Would they like it on their doorstep?

“It’s not fair on everyone who lives round here.”

Tony says it shouldn’t make any difference if the rubbish is on public or private land.

“It’s still a health hazard,” he said. “We’ve got a rat infestation, and that can encourage them to breed - no predators can get in there.

“We see rats running across the roads here. There’s always been rats here because of the wasteland, but I’ve seen three or four of them in my back garden.

“I don’t think this rubbish is helping at all.”

Tony fears the problem will only get worse if nothing is done.

“When I first reported it, it was just a pile of roof tiles,” he added.

“Now you’ve got bits of guttering, bits of wood, there’s all the units, chairs and mirrors out of the hairdressers, there’s garden waste.

“That’s only what we can see from here.”

The rubbish is situated behind the Taylor Food Store and an unoccupied building which was formerly a hair salon.

The Courier was told that the landlord who owns the building occupied by the Taylor Food Store intends to remove it within the next week.

Calderdale Council’s Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods, Andrew Pitts, said: “We know that problems with rats or other vermin can be unpleasant and upsetting, and our environmental health and pest control teams do all they can to ensure that any issues are resolved quickly and efficiently.

“We are currently investigating reports of a large amount of rubbish at a property in the Dodgeholme Drive area. Although we have no specific reports of complaints regarding rats in this area at this time, as part of our investigation into the large amount of rubbish we will ensure that officers check for signs of vermin, and if found, will act accordingly.

“We encourage any residents in this or any other area that are suffering with any pests to please contact Customer First on 01422 288002 (select option one), or for more information, visit www.calderdale.gov.uk and search for pest control.”