Decrease in flytipping in Tendring but Harwich concerns remain

Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) figures reveal there were 533 flytipping incidents in the district in the year to March 2023 – a drop of ten per cent compared to the previous year.

This meant there were 3.5 incidents per 1,000 people in the area.

In Tendring, most flytipped waste was discovered on highways, accounting for 59 per cent of recorded incidents, with 31 per cent of waste being dumped on council land.

Large - Items as big as 'double-sized beds' are being flytipped (Image: Tony Francis)

Resident Tony Francis said flytipping was a big problem on the seaward end of Orwell Terrace – with waste being dumped in between a Green Flag Park and a Blue Flag Beach.

He said: “This ground is on the direct passage of tourists and has been a hideous carbuncle since this end of the building collapsed in 1994.

“Level it. Fill it with unwanted beach shingle slag or landscape it with shrubs and a bench or two.”

Mr Francis said that one success story was Victoria Street in Harwich which seemed to have been solved with “large bins”.

Another resident, Dave Kirkwood, said double beds, garden waste, prams and other large items had been dumped in Orwell Road which has become a “focal point” for flytipping.

Cleared - Victoria St, Main Road end has been cleared of flytipping (Image: Tony Francis)

Harwich town councillor Gary Calver said: “If the official data is showing a reduction, then that has to be welcomed.

“However, flytipping is still a major problem and every incident causes problems for those who have to live with it.”

Tendring Council environment boss Mike Bush said fly-tipping was unacceptable and a blight on communities.

“I am pleased we have seen a fall in the number of incidents over the past year but we would always like to see fewer still,” he said.

“We take fly-tipping extremely seriously and act swiftly where it is on our land.”Unacceptable - Councillor Mike Bush, Tendring District Council Cabinet Member for Environment said flytipping was unacceptable (Image: Great Oakley Parish Council)

Mr Bush said deterrents are used in hotspot areas.

He said: “We will not hesitate to take enforcement action and prosecute where we have the evidence available to do so."

Putting a black bag out next to a bin is also "technically fly-tipping” and the council says enforcement action for continued breaches will be taken after a warning notice has been issued.  .

Mr Bush added: “We ask people to remember it is a crime not to care – if you use unlicensed waste carriers who then fly-tip then that would be the same as you committing the crime, and that you are liable for your waste and where it ends up.”