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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Connor Lynch

Holyland flytipping 'out of control' as residents call for waste management strategy

Holyland residents have said flytipping has got 'out of control' as house clearances take place during the summer months.

Since the beginning of the summer, residents say that the South Belfast area has been plagued with constant flytipping in its alleyways, and have called on Belfast City Council to take decisive action and start prosecuting those who are doing the dumping.

They say that the council cleansing team are constantly in the area removing rubbish, which is giving a green light to offenders to continue to dump waste there as they know it will be removed.

Read more: Holyland branded 'lawless ghetto' over fly tipping and dirty streets

From the start of June, Belfast City Council has received almost one report a day of flytipped waste in the wider university area, with 63 reports of dumping via telephone or online.

Residents say that CCTV is needed in the alleyways in order to catch those illegally dumping waste and stop the problem from continuing.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Brid Ruddy of the College Park Avenue Residents Association, said: "We are in desperate need of CCTV in the Holyland area in order to stop the constant flytipping in our alleyways.

"Everyday we are finding rubbish that has been dumped due to house clearances which is causing rats and other pests to come to the area.

"Even in our award-winning Wildflower Alley we have found bags of rubbish hidden under the planters and benches, which would have gone completely unnoticed if we had not been monitoring the area.

"We need the Council to start taking action against these people who are dumping in our area and residents want to see these people prosecuted, but that cannot happen unless there is CCTV in the area

"The council currently has no waste management strategy for the area, and while the workers are very good at clearing flytipping once it has been dumped, measures are needed so this does not happen in the first place."

A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: "Council commits significant street cleansing resources in the Holylands throughout the year but, unfortunately, we do see an increase in the amount of rubbish accumulated at this time of year.

“Our Cleansing teams are in the area each day, removing rubbish from alleyways, including dumped items, and actively responding to requests for service from residents. Our Enforcement staff are also carrying out regular patrols as a result of the increase in fly-tipping.

“Landlords and tenants are ultimately responsible for disposing of unwanted household items like mattresses and sofas, and we strongly encourage people to play their part in keeping our city clean by using our free bulky waste collection service (028 9027 0230). Items can also be brought to our recycling centres.

“Elected members have also set up a cleansing task force to review cleansing provision in both the city centre and local neighbourhoods, including the Holylands.”

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