Campaigners bring mattress to Southampton city centre

Campaigners from Bevois took their fight to the front steps of Southampton City Council before directly making their voices heard in the council chamber.

A demonstration organised by Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) before the Civic Centre meeting saw protesters bring along a double mattress with the words “stop the fly-tipping” and “scrap the charges” written across it.

Residents staged the protest over long-running fly-tipping issues (Image: Jason Lewis/LDRS)

Socialist Party member Carina Smith told councillors Southampton residents want cleaner, healthier neighbourhoods.

She said Bevois residents repeatedly raised fly-tipping while she canvassed before the local elections.

Ms Smith said: “Residents want to dispose of unwanted furniture, broken appliances and household waste, but for so many the cost is not within their budgets.

“Bevois is one of Southampton’s most deprived communities as we know and families are facing terrible choices, such as eating and buying food. Getting rid of waste would not be their main priority, so it is not surprising that we can find it on our streets.

“Fly-tipping makes neighbourhoods look neglected, it attracts more dumping and creates anti-social behaviour and health hazards which cost more in the long run to treat and clear away.”

She said research showed people respond to the environment around them.

Ms Smith added: “Every resident in Southampton regardless of income or postcode deserves the opportunity to keep their community clean.”

Campaigners say restoring bulky waste collections would cost the council about £800,000 a year.

Bevois resident and TUSC member Tim Cutter said fly-tipping blights all of Southampton and should concern every councillor.

Mr Cutter said: “The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t gone away.

“People still have to make impossible choices about where to spend their money.

“Paying a minimum of £23 to come collect your bulk waste is a choice many people can’t make, especially when they are trying to make ends meet.”

He said Bevois residents were proud of their area but angry at the council over “years of neglect and being abandoned”.

Mr Cutter added: “The sight of dirty mattresses and piles of rubbish dumped on our streets and a failure by the council to provide a permanent solution demonstrates just how far this neglect has gone.”

John Savage, Labour councillor responsible for environment, said fly-tipping was a complex and complicated issue.

He said: “The greatest number of fly-tipping incidents involve black sacks which are dumped on the street rather than bulky waste items although they are second (most common).”

Cllr Savage said landlords also contributed to the problem when clearing their properties.

He offered to meet with campaigners to discuss the issue further.

In April, then-council leader Alex Winning said £500,000 from February's budget would be spent on enforcing littering and fly-tipping laws.