A north London borough is hiring 28 full-time members of staff dedicated to tackling fly-tipping.
The leader of Enfield council, Conservative Alessandro Georgiou, announced plans designed to combat the illegal dumping of waste, including clearing rubbish and fining perpetrators.
But the move has sparked a political row, with Labour group leader Ergin Erbil accusing the Conservatives of cutting 30 street cleaners before announcing the new team.
Residents say it’s a serious serious problem in the borough.
Lorraine Dunkley, 64, from Upper Edmonton, said fly-tipping is ‘rife’ and particularly bad in her area.
She said: “I’m not sure how effective that’s going to be. More effort should be made to stop and educate perpetrators, dealing with hotspots.
“I’m not that encouraged. It’s not going to stop people dumping, it might just let them clear it up quicker.”
A self-styled fly-tipping ‘vigilante’, Mike Haan, 82, has been encouraged by the proposal: “We’ve seen improvement already.”
But he added that more work is needed: “By Southgate station, pavements are littered with rubbish. Every week they clear it but they don’t fine them.”
The new proposal has caused a political row between the Conservative council leader, Georgiou, and Labour group leader, councillor Ergin Erbil.
Erbil said: “On the Conservatives’ proposal for 28 full-time staff dedicated to fly-tipping, I would welcome any genuine investment in tackling fly-tipping but they announced this after firing 30 street cleaners.”
Georgiou called the agency street cleaners an ‘election bribe’ by Labour. He said: “Conveniently, it happened just before the election and it ended straight after the election.”
Erbil disputed those claims: “The suggestion that the agency street cleaners were brought in simply because of the election is wrong.
“The additional capacity followed additional funding being made available from the new Labour Government and was part of a wider effort to improve street cleanliness. It was not an election gimmick.”
The council has started the recruitment process for the street cleaning team but could not say how much the appointments will cost.
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