'Criminals ruined our neighbourhood with mountains of fly-tipping - why do we have to pay to clean it up?'
A neighbourhood of Sheffield travellers say they are being “punished” with the cost to clean up a criminal gang’s “mountains of fly-tipping”, despite trying to raise the alarm about it for months.
On September 2, The Star reported on how the residents of Long Acre View had suffered for months because of a gang dumping and burning piles of waste around their homes.
Residents had been complaining to the council, the police and fire brigade with evidence for over six months, but it was only until The Star’s story that action was taken.
Within a week of publication, two-metre tall heaps of waste were cleared away in a three-day operation that reportedly took away 16 tonnes of garbage.
Huge patches of the official travellers’ site that were previously buried under mattresses and industrial rubbish are now visible again for the first time in months.
But now, in return for residents taking the risk to expose a criminal gang operating on their street has been a letter from the council - telling them they are paying the bill for the £15,000 clean-up.
Residents say the letter also “blames them” for the fly-tipping being so severe - despite The Star making the council aware that one resident has been repeatedly contacting them about it for nearly a year.
“I’m disgusted,” said the resident. “It’s like them saying ‘you thought you had won, but you haven’t, and anyway it’s your own fault’.”
The letter to all residents on Long Acre View from Sheffield City Council’s Gypsy Traveller Support Service on September 4 claims the local authority “had to” use private contractors to remove the fly-tipping at a cost of £15,000.
This will be paid out of residents’ accumulated pitch fees used to maintain the site, and effectively amounts to a £1,000 contribution from each neighbour to clear it away.
However, residents say they feel the letter “taunts and blames” them with the following passage: “We had plans to make improvements to your day rooms this year [but] we have had to scale back these improvements. We have received ideas such as creating a park for children, which is something we would love to do; however the budget absolutely will not allow for such improvements now that such a large amount is needing to be spent on waste clearance.”
“It’s such a horrible thing to say,” said the resident. “I’ve been telling them about it for nearly a year. They never took action. They could have tackled it when it was manageable, but they didn’t, and then it got so bad they ‘had to’ spend 15 grand on it - and then they make it out like it’s all our fault.
“This is the fault of a few individuals in a gang, so why did every resident get this letter? Why don’t they solve this by prosecuting those responsible?
“And to act like ‘oh we were going to give you a children’s play park but oh well, not anymore’. So you’re telling me they have been visiting the site all this time and planning a play park while there’s also been piles of rubbish around? I think it’s a complete lie so they can blame us all.”
The letter also warns: “If you have been disposing of commercial waste or any other controlled wasted [sic.] by burning you should stop doing so immediately.
“Long Acre View has the potential to be a lovely place to live. Please help us make the site better for all residents.”
The resident claims the burning of waste has not stopped despite the clean up.
The Star contacted the council about the resident’s concerns about the letter.
In a statement, councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the Housing Policy Committee, said: “Sheffield City Council housing staff are continuing to look into the concerns and frustrations of the residents of Long Acre View. We are working with police and fire services to tackle this ongoing situation.
“We have already cleared a huge amount of illegal fly-tipping from the site. Part of solving issues like this also involves keeping up communication with residents and making sure they can tell us about their concerns. We recently wrote to all the residents at the site to make them all aware we know about the impact of fly-tipping and burning. We also invite residents to give us any information about this activity so we can continue to work on solving the problems.
“There are proactive actions being taken by our staff to put a stop to this, and these will continue. Long Acre View can be a lovely place to live. As always, if anyone has any more information they can pass on to ourselves, the police or fire service to help us stop these incidents. We urge you to do so.”