More than 4,000 fly-tipping incidents in Sheffield reported via FixMyStreet website and app

The popular website and app was used more than 4,000 times during 2021 to report rubbish being illegally dumped across the city, new figures show, with a further 1,800 incidents already logged so far this year.

In total, FixMyStreet was used 12,267 times last year to report problems ranging from littering and abandoned vehicles to dog fouling, faulty lights and cracks in the pavement.

To date, FixMyStreet’s figures show 7,224 cases remain ‘open’ and 5,043 have been ‘fixed’.

So far this year, 5,480 reports have been made, 1,782 of which have been ‘fixed’, with the remainder still ‘open’.

The figures were highlighted by volunteer litter picker Bridget Ingle, who believes flytipping and other issues could be highlighted and sorted more efficiently if Sheffield Council paid to integrate the FixMyStreet site with its own system.

Ms Ingle claims the council’s own reporting system is not good enough and spending £48,000 over four years to integrate with FixMyStreet – which is run by SocietyWorks, a subsidiary of the charity mySociety – would be a wise investment.

The City of Westminster, in London, and Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire county councils are among the local authorities which have already signed up and spoken about the benefits.

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FixMyStreet enables users to upload photos and details, including the precise location, of any problems they witness so the relevant organisation can clear waste or make the necessary repairs.

Reports made via FixMyStreet are automatically forwarded to local authorities so they can investigate, whether they have paid or not, but the process is not as smooth if it is not integrated, with time being wasted uploading data.

Ms Ingle said: “The council's existing reporting system is not fit for purpose. It takes a long time to get through on the telephone and you need an internet connection to use its clunky online system.”

She added: “FixMyStreet covers the whole of the UK, regardless of where you are and the reports and statistics are in the public domain. For local authorities it reduces staffing costs and delivers a tailored reporting system.

“Paying to integrate with FixMyStreet would make a massive difference. It would make it simpler for people to report problems and it would make it easier for the council and its contractors Amey and Veolia to ensure those problems are dealt with as quickly as possible.

"I don’t know why the council doesn’t invest in FixMyStreet. It’s already spent money upgrading its reporting system and has another £15k allocated for this coming year. These upgrades will not reduce staffing costs, whereas FixMyStreet will.”

After fly-tipping, the most common issues reported in Sheffield via FixMyStreet were related to rubbish, street cleaning, pavements/footpaths and roads/highways.

A council spokesperson said: “The council is in the process of improving its online reporting forms to ensure improved functionality.

“Reports about litter made via the council’s website are sent straight to Amey to action whilst reports made via email, the Customer Service Contact Centre or FixMyStreet require manual input and are therefore slower to process.

“Further work is planned this year to test the integration of FixMyStreet with the council’s systems. There would be a significant cost for the council to integrate or replace the current reporting system with FixMyStreet.”

These were the top problems reported via FixMyStreet in Sheffield during 2021

1, Fly-tipping: 4,207

2, Rubbish (refuse and recycling): 2,274

3, Street cleaning: 1,423

4, Pavements/footpaths: 705

5, Roads/highways: 626

6, Car parking: 487

7, Parks/landscapes: 342

8, Potholes: 318

9, Abandoned vehicles: 206

10, Trees: 190

To report problems via FixMyStreet, visit: www.fixmystreet.com.

To report fly-tipping directly to Sheffield Council, visit: www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/pollution-nuisance/litter-bins-flytipping.