Fly-tippers dump piles of rubbish at playground

Huge piles of rubbish dumped and left to rot at a play park since March have made parents and children "sick to their stomachs", councillors have heard.

Yew Hills Road play area in Huddersfield has become a fly-tipping "grot spot" with old mattresses and luggage also strewn about the green space, a meeting was told.

One ward councillor told members of Kirklees Council's cabinet that "children should be able to play safely there" and volunteers should not have to pick up the waste.

The council said part of the issue was the local authority's budget restraints but that it would do "whatever we can to make it safe".

The pile of black bin bags at the Thornton Lodge Park keeps growing but apparently "does not warrant covert monitoring", said councillor Jo Lawson.

She said she was also concerned about waste being collected by volunteers.

Ms Lawson added: "There are bags of litter still waiting to be collected from a litter pick on Manchester Road within my ward that have been there since February. We should be championing our volunteers, not making them think what is the point?"

She also urged the council to look at reopening the nearest tip seven days a week, having a token charge for bulky waste collection and sending wagons to hotspots to collect rubbish.

The council's cabinet member for environment and highways, Munir Ahmed, said he had had "extensive discussions" about the situation and that "partnerships" were needed for the council and residents working together.

Another councillor called for CCTV cameras to be installed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Imran Safdar added: "We've asked for this so many times – the residents, the place of worship, the pensioners.

"The children and the parents of the area are sick to their stomachs of seeing fly tips."

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