Havering Council meeting hears Romford fly-tipping issues

Streets across the borough – namely Moss Lane and Albert Road in Romford – are being blighted by piles of rubbish dumped illegally. 

Residents on social media have said it has become a “daily occurrence”. 

Jane Keane, a Labour councillor for St Albans, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It detracts from the investment homeowners and councils plough into creating attractive spaces.

“Even more unforgivably, it is diverting scarce resources that are needed for youth and cultural activities, children’s services and adult services."

She added: “People will fly-tip when they can, so the sooner these things are reported the better.

“Then people won’t get the impression they are tolerated.”

However, she praised street cleaners for “working in all weather” and the work of community litter-pickers, adding that “no one is too posh to pick”. 

These issues were raised by several officials during a full council meeting on Wednesday (27th March). 

A frustrated councillor Dilip Patel told the chamber that fly-tipping was an issue “week in, week out” in his Mawneys ward. 

Cllr Jane Keane (Image: Jane Keane)

Judith Holt, a fellow Conservative councillor representing St Albans, highlighted similar problems with litter in the George Street, King Edward Road and Alexandra Road car parks. 

Barry Mugglestone, cabinet member for the environment, said the authority’s enforcement teams were visiting known hot spots and encouraged residents to report incidents. 

He added that Havering was installing more CCTV cameras across the borough and more than 200 offenders had been fined in recent months. 

A new enforcement team was introduced in June last year, with the powers to fine people for littering, not clearing up dog mess, and fly-tipping. 

The uniformed team, comprising officers from National Enforcement Solutions (NES), handed out 300 fines in their first week. 

Though the council has increased its CCTV provision, Cllr Keane told the LDRS these areas were currently unmonitored.

She said that made apprehending culprits “difficult”.  

As the meeting wound to a close, councillors expressed concerns that gates in their wards were not being locked, which was the responsibility of National Enforcement Solutions. 

Brian Eagling said that Harold Wood Park had only been locked-up once over the past seven days – despite reassurances to the contrary. 

He was concerned leaving the gates open would compound littering and anti-social behaviour. 

Cllr Mugglestone said the authority was working to remedy the situation with its contractor, which he said had faced issues with staff retention.