Reading council called to act in 'noxious' waste case

Councillor Raj Singh (Conservative, Kentwood) has raised the issue of flytipping on land near 930-940 Oxford Road which is located between the Waitrose and the long-closed The Restoration Pub.

He has said that illegal dumping of waste has been a problem in the area for years, prompting him to raise it at a recent council meeting.

Cllr Singh said: “Flytipping has been going on for a while on a section of unregistered land near Waitrose on Oxford Road and Roadway Road.

“It is an eyesore and degrades the neighbourhood.

“Additionally, waste appears to be noxious, harmful and a source of insect infection.

“What steps is the council taking to deal with this problem, and when will they be completed?”

Flytipping between 930-940 Oxford Road, Reading, near the Waitrose. Credit: Councillor Raj Singh

He raised the problem at a full meeting of Reading Borough Council on Tuesday, October 17.

It was answered by Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) the lead councillor for environmental services.

She said: “The council has a duty to keep the public highway and other council-owned land clear of waste.

“Cleansing operatives routinely empty street litter bins, collect litter and remove fly-tipped waste from public land.

“The council does not have a duty to clear waste from private property, privately owned land or unregistered and unadopted land.”

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Cllr Rowland stated the land has multiple private owners, therefore the council’s street team has written to each of the landowners requesting an urgent clearance of the rubbish.

The team will revisit the site on Friday, November 10 to see whether the problem has been resolved.

If the situation escalates, the team will issue a Community Protection Notice (CPN) which is used when an issue becomes unreasonable, of a continued nature and is detrimental to the locality.

Cllr Rowland explained: “The failure to remove the waste from this site, if our initial contact elicits no action, will likely result in enforcement action being taken against the landowners in the form of a CPN.

“The team will continue to monitor this site and the matter will be progressed should the landowners fail to take responsibility for their land.”

Landowners can use waste removal companies to get rid of flytipping on their land, which can be found online.

The council also has a free bulky waste collection service which disposes of hard-to-move items such as fridges, sofas and other large items.

However, no dates for free collections were available on the council website when the Local Democracy Reporting Service checked at the time of writing.

An error was made as cllr Singh’s question mentioned ‘Roadway Road’ which doesn’t exist in Reading.

It was understood that cllr Singh meant Romsey Road which has a junction with Oxford Road.

The rubbish has been dumped near a building in Oxford Road which has had two serious fires in September 2020 and April this year.