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Fly-tipping menace
Bryn Gates Lane
COUNCIL bosses are investigating alleged illegal dumping of green waste in Wigan.
Residents forum Lily Lane Action Group are demanding action after fears of what a growing mound of bio-mass could also contain.
They have been monitoring developments at the site in Bamfurlong’s Bryn Gates Lane with increasing concern.
It was the victim of an arson attack at Christmas with flames rising so high into the sky they could be seen eight miles away in Ince.
Action Group spokesman John Jones is concerned that tipping abuse of the area, with its former history of mining and heavy engineering, could be being taken for granted.
But council director of the economy Steve Normington insisted today that it had previously investigated allegations of unauthorised tipping activities on the site over a number of years and had taken action where appropriate.
He said: “We are aware of the current concerns of residents which are subject of ongoing investigations and site monitoring. Appropriate action will be taken in the event that the current investigations prove a breach of planning controls.”
Lily Lane Action Group claims that storage of green waste has transformed the site from tranquil countryside to an “irretrievable mess.”
Mr Jones alleged: “We are an ordinary working-family group who have become increasingly alarmed at the amount of waste being tipped on land at Bryn Gates Lane. We have concerns about the contents of the lorries delivering this bio-mass waste and the frequency of deliveries to what we are led to believe is an operation that has no planning permission.
“After numerous telephone calls to the various agencies it now seems that in fact this is an unauthorised site.”
He said that fire broke out in the mound of bio-mass late last year which ended up burning continually for five days, with the blaze requiring, at its height, four fire engines to control and the canal’s water supply being called into action, such was the intensity.
Mr Jones said: “This illegal burning created severe problems for hundreds of residents in all directions and lasted for days. It was so bad on Lily Lane that dozens of people had to leave their homes because of the acrid smoke.
“I was that annoyed I went down Bryn Gates Lane to speak to the fire officer in charge an he informed me that there had been over 1,200 individual complaints which I find truly staggering.
“We believe that this is a way of disposing of unwanted waste, including contaminated waste. The fire was reported as an arson attack but on speaking to the fire officer later he commented it would have taken a tanker full of diesel to light a pile so big.
“While we are not against any company making a living, we do expect it to be done in an entirely legitimate and environmentally friendly way,and not to maximise an individual or company profits.”
Members of the action group are pledging to continue to monitor traffic movements with suspected waste carrying vehicles on a daily basis with video cameras and written recordings.
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Weather for Wigan
Friday 24 May 2013
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