'We'll hire skip if council doesn't clean fly-tip'

A county councillor has said he will clear a pile of rubbish dumped next to a main road in Nottinghamshire himself if the district council fails to do so.

Reform UK's Rory Green said the fly-tip was first left on the A611 Annesley Road between Hucknall and Annesley last year and more litter had been dumped since, including a fridge and mattress springs.

Green and fellow county councillor Richard Darrington said they had written to Ashfield District Council, giving the authority 14 days to respond and clear the mess.

The council said the fly-tip was on private land and it was the land owner's responsibility to remove the pile if it was not posing a hazard or causing a nuisance.

District and borough councils are primarily responsible for fly-tipping, but land owners must deal with waste dumped on their private property.

Green said the fly-tip started with waste from a cannabis grow.

"It's an eyesore and I have had enough", Green said. "There is a land dispute here. It is on the edge of the highway but also next to a neighbouring land site.

"I understand and appreciate there has been a delay but it has been here for five or six months now which is unacceptable.

"We've said we will try to do it ourselves. We will muck in together - myself and councillor Darrington will go halves on a skip or take it to the tip.

"We have tried to go through all the right mechanisms and it has got us nowhere."

Green said he contacted Ashfield District Council about the issue over Christmas.

"We want to be proactive so we are calling on the district council to take this more seriously and be more urgent," he said.

An Ashfield District Council spokesperson said: "This illegal waste has been fly-tipped on an unadopted part of the highway and is therefore not the automatic responsibility of Ashfield District Council – but the land owner.

"We do occasionally get involved and remove fly-tips on unadopted pieces of land but typically only when it is causing a nuisance or poses a hazard to residents. This is something the county council can also do.

"We admire the intent of people who wish to resolve issues themselves, but they must insure they do not breach any legislation associated with the management, transporting and disposal of waste."

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