Manchester residents ask for council tax refund because of fly-tipping

A fly-tipping ‘hotspot’ in Manchester is so bad that residents are demanding a council tax refund.

Residents living near Yew Tree Road in Fallowfield, south Manchester, say alleyways are continuously being used by fly-tippers to dump rubbish, furniture, and white goods.

Families have also reported seeing rats around the rubbish, causing hygiene concerns.

One resident, who has lived in the area for two-and-a-half years, said that the issue has been continuous since she moved in.

She said: "I feel like every time we report it, it just isn’t taken seriously enough.

"There was one occasion when there were about eight fridges just left dumped in the street.

"After we reported it, someone came to clear them away but only got rid of half of them."

Alleyways backing onto Newlyn Street, Chilworth Street and Boscombe Street are among those affected.Another issue adding to the situation is an alleged disruption of service from bin collectors.

Homeowners claim the bin collection times listed on the council website often don’t correlate with the actual date of collection.

Tzanka Tcherneva-Ilieva has been keeping a record of missed bin collections and according to her, 27 collections were missed over the space of 54 weeks.

Tzanka, who has lived in the area for five years, said: "There is a total absence of control of the situation from the council.

"I asked them to return my council tax because they are not providing a service."

In a written response to Tzanka’s request, Manchester City Council said there was "nothing within the waste legislation or the council policies and service standards that entitle residents to financial recompense of any form if there is a failure to collect a bin from a property".

The Council said it shared the same frustration as the residents.

Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar (Lab), executive member for neighbourhoods, said: "We are just as angered as residents when a small criminal minority, who don't care about our neighbourhoods, dump their waste illegally.

"We always ensure that fly-tips are cleared when they are reported to us and have a strong investigative team, who work hard to secure hundreds of convictions against waste criminals every year.

"Whenever we find the evidence needed, we prosecute and push for the stiffest possible penalties.

"Our team visits this area regularly with the aim of taking enforcement action against those responsible.

"We have served almost 50 legal notices relating to waste management issues since last April and will continue to pursue offenders whenever the evidence allows."