Council agree to move fly-tipping as 'goodwill gesture'

Tony Weafer, 69, said the alleyway on Church Street – located behind Costa Coffee and CEX on Shirley High Street – had become a dumping ground for fly-tippers.

Though problems have persisted on and off for several years, last week was the ‘worst it’s ever been,’ with a Christmas tree, television, vacuum cleaner, and even a suitcase piled up.

After an attempt to move the waste themselves, members of the public were told they could be accused of fly-tipping themselves. 

But now, Southampton City Council has said it is clearing the waste as a "goodwill gesture".

Tony told the Echo: “It’s been a seven-year struggle to keep this section of road rubbish-free.

Tony Weafer

“Last week was the worst it’s ever been and neither the council nor any of the nearby businesses have ever really taken responsibility for maintaining the alleyway.”

The alleyway on Church Street is deemed private land, meaning the Council doesn't collect rubbish when passing the road on their daily collections from nearby roads.

Having had little progress when speaking to the local authority and Environmental Health, Tony took matters into his own hands – enlisting the help of a couple of friends, Andy and Sid – who threw on some protective gloves and disposed of the rubbish.

The bulk was then moved to the pavement at the end of the alleyway, where it could be collected by the council as it was on a public road.

However, it didn’t quite go according to plan, as a member of the council’s waste management team walked by and said, 'Do you know you could be accused of fly-tipping yourself?".

“I just thought that was ridiculous as we seemed to be the only people trying to do something about it!”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: “We are aware of the situation at Church Street.

“Although the rubbish is on private land, Southampton City Council have been out to clear it twice recently.

“Today (Thursday, February 29, we arranged for the waste to be cleared by our teams as a goodwill gesture.”

Though the council agreed to remove the rubbish, Tony hopes that together with neighbouring businesses, the authorities can work to make sure Church Street isn’t littered with waste again.

He added: “At the end of the day, I think they have to come together and take responsibility.

“The rubbish can’t be allowed to build up time and time again.

“If it’s nipped in the bud early it can only be a good thing – there are children who walk through the road everyday and it’s not a healthy situation when it’s not maintained.”