Man's anger over 'repugnant' fly-tipping in Plymouth

  • Fly-tipping near Agaton Social Club in Ernesettle

A man from Plymouth is calling out fly-tipping across the city, saying it reduces house prices, invites criminality and gives the impression of a run-down area.

Philip Partridge, of West Park, says fly-tipping has been a burden on his community for some times.

He has also reported a number of fly-tipping offences in the Ernesettle area.

Philip said: "There have been numerous occasions (where) we've seen fly-tipping in this part of Plymouth - I've tidied it up myself in the past.

Philip runs the West Park community page to help tackle the issues. Credit: Erin Black/Plymouth Live

"I think it's people who are unlicensed who are taking people's waste and money and not disposing of it properly, ditching it in the nearest quiet place they can find.

"There's no reason that a normal householder wouldn't dispose of this kind of waste properly - you may have to get in a queue at Chelson Meadow for half an hour, but that's not an excuse to say well I'll just ditch it in the nearest area I can be bothered to go to."

The council says it takes a "zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping".

Philip said fly-tipping is something he's particularly passionate about tackling, because he thinks it unfairly brings the area down.

He said: "I've lived in West Park now for four and a half years, and Ernesettle is part of my local area.

"This area has always had fly-tipping, and it makes me angry because ultimately, it's the taxpayer that fund that, it costs us as a city more to send the council out and dispose of that waste.

Philip Partridge says fly-tipping is his "public enemy number one". Credit: Erin Black/Plymouth Live

"It brings an area down, it reduces the value of your house, it invites other elements of criminality to come in because they think it's run down and people don't look around for each other."

Philip believes the pandemic has not helped, and said: "Sometimes, it's the fact that the council are so backlogged with cases so they aren't able to deal with it right away, but it was more efficient before Covid - I'd send a message in and within three or four days it would be gone.

A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said the a

uthority will not tolerate fly-tipping.

They said: "No one else is to blame for fly-tipping but the fly-tippers themselves and where we can, we strive to punish those who feel they’re above the law.“Since February 2020, we have issued more than 100 Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping and have taken seven individuals to court for their crimes.“We thank residents for reporting fly-tipping to us and would urge them to continue so that we can carry on coming down hard on the unscrupulous minority who refuse to responsibly dispose of their waste."Our efforts to clear up and investigate cases of fly-tipping have continued throughout the pandemic."

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