Renfrewshire Council forced to remove fly-tipping despite pleas to property owners

Renfrewshire Council has organised the removal of an ugly bout of fly-tipping on private land in Paisley after concerns were raised about the amount of rubbish piling up.

The volume of waste – which included old sofas, mattresses and other furniture – that had accumulated in the back court at 1 Maxwellton Street was threatening to spiral out of control last month.

It’s understood statutory notices were issued to all property owners responsible for the area after informal attempts to get it cleared proved unsuccessful.

As they could not reach a full agreement on the matter, the local authority took on the job and will send out invoices to those in question to cover the costs of removal and disposal.

Councillor Kenny MacLaren, an SNP representative for Paisley Northwest, has been left infuriated by the “slow pace of action” at the site.

He said: “There was concern about the amount of rubbish that was piling up on a daily basis at 1 Maxwellton Street.

“This has been a regular problem in this area but I’ve never seen it so bad before. I know council officers have been looking at it since April.

“The slow pace of action has been frustrating to everyone who has to go past that site.

“There is concern that it’s taken until August to clear up an issue which the council’s environmental health officer was concerned about back in April.

“There has to be a quicker way of dealing with situations like this.”

Councillor MacLaren added that he would be making a report to the landlord registration team.

A council spokesperson said: “Fly-tipping is not only illegal and unsightly but it damages our environment and taxpayers and businesses are the ones who have to foot the bill for cleaning it up.

“The land at the rear of 1 Maxwellton Street is privately owned and it is the responsibility of the relevant owners to remove any fly-tipping.

“We have been engaging with business owners and landlords in the building to have the waste removed and can confirm this has now been actioned.

“We will continue to work with them to encourage that they secure the area and help prevent future incidents.

“We encourage residents to report fly-tipping to us and provide us with any evidence they have about who is responsible.

“We will then do everything we can to make sure they are held to account.”