Massive tyre dump on moorland road takes ten vans and fourteen people to clear
A council has undertaken a major operation to clear extensive fly-tipping which had blighted a beauty spot. Serious amounts of fly-tipping had taken place at Cold Edge Road, near Warley Moor Reservoir in North Halifax. Andrew Tagg, who stood for election for the Conservatives in Ovenden ward in the May elections, earlier in the spring estimated around 20 tonnes of rubbish – including what looked like a truckload of old tyres – had been dumped along on Cold Edge Road, and reported it to Calderdale Council.
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Cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, Coun Jenny Lynn said this week the work had been done and was a major task. She described the illegal tipping as “a serious and selfish crime” which cost council taxpayers’ money to clear and she urged people to keep the council supplied with information which might lead to the culprits being caught and punished. The council said the clean-up effort involved 14 people, ten vans and additional traffic management operatives and vehicles.
It took the group around five hours to clear a large amount of tyres and other rubbish which had been dumped along a long stretch of the road.
It took 14 people and 10 vans five days to clear the fly-tipping (Image: Copyright Unknown)
In all, three tonnes of rubbish was cleared, with more than 800 tyres collected and the whole operation cost the council around GBP4,500. Coun Lynn said: “The recent case of fly tipping along Cold Edge Road was a serious and selfish crime, which not only caused a danger to the environment, but also blighted the landscape on one of our most scenic, moorland routes. “Incidents like this one require a great deal of resource to resolve and cost a significant amount of taxpayers’ money to clear away.
We do all we can to tackle the issue, but also rely on eyewitness reports to provide key evidence to catch the culprits and prevent issues in future.
Calderdale Council has now cleared the fly-tipping at Cold Edge Road, Halifax (Image: Copyright Unknown)
“If you witness fly tipping or are aware of who might be involved in these crimes, please don’t hesitate to let us know, alternatively it can be reported to Crimestoppers. All reports are taken seriously and are always anonymous.” Dealing will illegally dumped and fly-tipped material costs Calderdale around GBP200,000 every year to clear, said the council, and the authority therefore works hard to tackle the issue seeking to identify evidence which might lead to the culprits being caught.
The council says it will, where evidence is found, not hesitate to prosecute those responsible, working with the Environment Agency and the police to bring perpetrators of environmental crime to justice. Serious offenders could face a fine of GBP50,000 or up to five years in prison. Preventative measures are also undertaken, with the council’s community protection teams carrying out regular patrols at fly tipping hotspot and technology used to catch culprits in the act, deploying mobile cameras to problem areas.
A recent operation on Cold Edge Road prevented a pick-up truck from dumping tree cuttings along the road.
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