Wigan councillor's fly-tipper clampdown call

George Davies, representative for Wigan Central, has demanded a town hall summit following months of frustration over rubbish dumped on open land.

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Coun Davies, who is also member of the confident places committee whose brief includes the environment, recycling and fly-tipping - also highlighted some fly-tipping hotspots in the area.

“Once again land across from Wynsors Shoes on Coop Street and near to Whelley Health Clinic, have been blighted with household waste, bedding and other items, making this area a hotspot for fly-tippers,” he said. “We have seen building rubble, carpets, children’s toys, over 500 empty glass bottles and electrical items dumped over the last five years.”

Another problem area that residents identified was Little London in Standishgate.

Coun Davies said: “We thank the residents in reporting these two areas to us but more must be done, so we will be calling on the council for a meeting to introduce more enforcements and CCTV cameras to catch the offenders.

“Fly-tipping in all communities must be stopped. In our borough of Wigan, it has cost the council over £750,000 to clean up land through these offenders. Now is the time to clean up on these fly-tippers with stonger enforcement.”

Coun Davies, alongside fellow ward representatives Michael McLoughlin and Lawrence Hunt, has long been campaigning for something to be done to clean up the site and deter the making of further mess.

In 2017 he called on residents to contact the council with information about fly-tippers, after dozens of bags of industrial waste were dumped near Coop Street, just weeks after a limit was imposed on how much non-household waste could be left at council-run recycling centres.

To report environmental crime, visit www.wigan.gov.uk/reportit.