Halifax Boxing Club fighting back against rubbish dumping on premises

Mick Rowe says tenants discard their rubbish over a wall, down an old railway banking and into the club’s car park, which has had to be cleared up several times.

“I rang the Environment Agency and pointed out that there was potential evidence in the bin bags,” said Mick.

“I simply got fobbed off with their excuses that they might have moved and that it was my problem.

“I simply cannot understand what good the Environment Agency is if it simply refuses to do anything.

“We’ve paid for a skip to remove what we can, costing hundreds of pounds, and filled two skips.

“It’s more than just fly tipping. It has become a massive eye sore.

“We have cleaned the area up for years, making the whole area quite attractive, but lately it’s become a total disgrace.

“We can’t understand why Environment Agency cannot contact the landlords who should be held responsible for the property they lease to stop fly tipping from there properties.

“We are hoping it doesn’t get this bad again its cost the club a great deal of money and brings the area and the club down.

“Other areas across Calderdale continue to be blighted by fly-tipping, with residents in Lightowler Close fed-up with rubbish being piled up on their street, but say they’ve had no response from Calderdale Council despite reporting it to them.”

The Environment Agency said because the rubbish is not hazardous, it was the responsibility of the local authority to deal with it.

Calderdale Council’s Assistant Director for Neighbourhoods, Andrew Pitts, said: “We are aware of the issues with fly tipping on land close to Halifax Boxing Club and our Community Safety Wardens have visited the site as part of patrols across the borough.

“As the land in this case is privately owned, it is the responsibility of the landowner to remove the rubbish. However, we do sympathise with the club’s situation and would like to help as much as we can. We’re looking into ways we can assist in tackling the problem and will do what we can to help prevent further issues – we’ll be in touch with the club to see how our resources can be of best use.

“We also plan to contact properties in the local area to ask for their assistance in keeping the area tidy and request their support to help catch the culprits of any further fly tipping. If we have evidence that can identify the offender/s we won’t hesitate to take steps to issue Fixed Penalty Notices or prosecute those responsible.

“We know the impact that fly tipping can have on our communities. It’s a serious crime and we continue to do what we can to tackle the issue.  In all cases, we investigate incidents of fly-tipping and evidence from eyewitnesses is important to support with the investigation and, ultimately, the prosecution of the offenders. Please let us know as much as you can by reporting fly tipping at www.calderdale.gov.uk.”