We’re watching you! CCTV installed in Ashworth Valley

Local Friends group, The Friends of Ashworth Valley has installed CCTV cameras in Ashworth Valley to deter fly-tippers from the beauty spot.

The security devices have been installed as the area has been plagued by fly-tipping for years, making it one of the borough’s worst hit areas for dumped waste.

Matching signage has also been installed after a major fundraising campaign over the summer.
 

Read more: CCTV hope to deter Ashworth Valley fly-tippersPublished: 18 August 2020

Previous items removed from the site include hundreds of tyres, catering jars of peanut butter, a car bumper and headlights, as well as typical household rubbish and rubble. Earlier this year, fencing was installed which has made a positive difference to the waste dumped in the area.

A spokesperson for The Friends of Ashworth Valley said: “Many mobile cameras will be targeting certain areas throughout the valley, in an attempt to catch these criminals in the act.

“The security cameras are a joint venture with Rochdale Borough Council, where any footage caught is under the ownership of the council, whilst The Friends will make sure the cameras are maintained and monitored. Thank you to everyone who donated.”

 

 

Earlier this year, figures from the BBC Shared Data Unit showed that Rochdale had one of the highest rates of major fly-tipping incidents in the country last year.

In 2018/19, 939 major incidents were recorded in the borough – the eighth highest in England – costing £300,210.

The cost of removing such large-scale fly-tipping locally last year took up a 52% chunk of the overall clearance cost – even though the number of large incidents accounted for 18% cent of the total of all fly-tipping incidents reported.

In total for the year 2018/19, local taxpayers spent £576,047 clearing 5,218 incidents.

 

 

Councils are able to issue on-the-spot fines to fly-tippers and to stop, search and seize vehicles suspected of being used for fly-tipping.

Local authorities and the Environment Agency are also able to issue penalties of up to £400 to householders who do not pass their waste to a licensed carrier and whose waste is then found fly-tipped.

If you have any information about fly-tipping or those responsible, please report it at rochdale.gov.uk/flytipping or by calling 0300 303 8884.

Information about how to dispose of bulky waste and the locations of recycling centres can be found at rochdale.gov.uk/recycling.