An Acomb resident has called for a fly-tipping dumping ground in a neighbouring supermarket’s car park to be dealt with after finding rats in his garden.
Craig Smith, whose Lowfield Drive home borders the Bring Bank bins at the Front Street Morrisons, said the years-long dumping of appliances, car parts and rubbish there was getting worse.
The father-of-three added bags of rubbish had been ripped open, attracting vermin, and the recent discovery of rats in his garden was the final straw.
City of York Council community safety lead Tanya Lyon said they were planning to put more skips and signs warning against fly-tipping there but the landowners were responsible for clearing the waste.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands Morrisons has been in contact with the council over the issue but the supermarket chain declined to comment further.
It comes as Liberal Democrat Westfield ward councillor Andrew Waller has called on the council to take action quickly to address the issue which was getting worse.
Cllr Waller told LDRS broken furniture was now being dumped along with other rubbish including waste paper which overflowed from recycling bins.
Mr Smith, who has lived in Lowfield Drive for 12 years, said he had seen washing machines, fridges, car body parts and an endless amount of other items dumped there.
He added that signs warning people that they could get fined may help to discourage fly-tipping.
The resident said: “Over the years I’ve seen the area become more and more of a dumping ground, I’ve seen vans and cars pull up and discard domestic items and commercial rubbish.
“When all the bins are full people leave recycling items for charity on the floor, then there’s a few guys who are struggling in life who rip the bags open and spill all the contents all over the floor.
“I’ve even seen one guy with his legs hanging out of the bin getting the bags from inside.
“This has gone on for a long time but as it’s gotten worse household rubbish has been ripped open and has attracted foxes and even rats.
“I’ve seen a couple of rats, including one dead in the car park, I had a rat in my garden about a month ago and that was the final straw, my wife’s since seen one there – it’s disgusting.”
Tip closure
Cllr Waller told LDRS efforts to get the council to intervene were ongoing, with the closure of the Beckfield Lane tip in 2013 keenly felt due to the issue.
The Liberal Democrat ward councillor added CCTV was needed to help with enforcement.
The Westfield ward councillor said: “This has been raised on an ongoing basis, especially with the overflow at Christmas due to the nearby area missing out on a fortnightly recycling collection.
“All this fly-tipping has added to the demands on the council’s caged van teams who have a huge amount of material to remove on top of the other needs to respond to fly-tipping in the ward.”
Cllr Emily Nelson, Labour’s ward member for Westfield, said anyone with information that could help with taking action against the fly-tipping should come forward.
Cllr Nelson said: “Just because this location takes clothes and other items of recycling doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to dump furniture and ordinary household waste there, which should be recycled or disposed of properly.”
Council community safety manager Ms Lyon said they took fly-tipping very seriously and perpetrators could be fined up to £1,000 or prosecuted.
She added the council was working alongside its waste disposal company Yorwaste to put warning signs on the recycling bins and the viability of installing CCTV was also being considered.
The official said: “The council ensures that fly-tipping on public land, highways and riverbanks is cleared as soon as possible.
“If any evidence is found which could be used in legal action, our Neighbourhood Enforcement team will investigate further.
“On private land, fly-tipping will be investigated but landowners are responsible for clearance.”
Anyone with concerns or information about fly-tipping in the area or elsewhere in York can report it to the council here