Edgbaston’s Conservative Councillors, DEIRDRE ALDEN, MATT BENNETT and FERGUS ROBINSON have secured a change of policy from the Council to deal with fly tipping. This followed a spate of problems in Edgbaston this summer.
First, residents in MANOR ROAD NORTH reported fly tipping in the front garden of a rented property which occurred when the tenants vacated it.
Then, at the end of August, residents living in ROMAN WAY, BULLACE CROFT, LEASOW DRIVE, VINCENT DRIVE and UNDERWOOD CLOSE were shocked to see a huge amount of fly tipping appear on their streets over night. The rubbish – which included bedding, clothes, handbags, and personal documents – came from a number of houses which students were vacating.
As this fly tipping was on public roads and pavements, Birmingham Council cleared up the mess – at a cost of around £20,000. Cllrs DEIRDRE ALDEN, MATT BENNETT and FERGUS ROBINSON met with residents to talk about what could be done to stop this happening again. As the students had left Birmingham, fining them was unlikely to be successful.
MATT discovered that Preston Council have introduced a system whereby the Managers of Houses in Multi Occupation are responsible for excess rubbish created by their tenants, and can be made to pay the cost of clearing it up plus a fine of up to £5,000.
At the September Council meeting, DEIRDRE therefore proposed an amendment asking Birmingham Council to introduce a similar policy.
Deirdre says, “I am delighted to report the Council agreed. I am now pursuing the matter with officers in the hope the new policy can be introduced before the end of the academic year.”