People power to tackle fly-tip eyesore
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FOR years it has been treated as a dumping ground for unwanted furniture and rubbish, turning it into one of the biggest eyesores in Wick.
But now local people say that they have had enough of their neighbourhood being treated as a tip and are taking action.
The Highland Council has organised the Pulteneytown clean-up appeal to help tidy one of the messiest areas of the town.
The local authority has teamed up with organisations based near the affected area between Kinnaird Street and Nicolson Street – Pulteneytown People’s Project and the Pulteney Distillery – to get rid of the unwanted items.
PPP training co-ordinator Sandy Jappy said that participants on its activity agreement initiative, teenagers not in education on employment, will be taking part in helping clean up the area.
He said that for too long the fly-tipping problem has gone unchecked and they want to bring back some pride to the community.
"We are based quite close to the area being used as a fly tip
by certain residents," he said.
"People come into our premises and comment about the awful state of the area – it is not good for Pulteneytown’s image.
"But it would be a wrong to say it’s just a problem here as several areas across the Highlands are in a similar situation.
"We want to turn it back into a green and pleasant area, where kids can enjoy themselves without fear of being injured by discarded rubbish.
"It is also important that we promote healthy living in the community but it makes it harder when there are areas being treated as dumps."
The area of rough ground volunteers will be tidying up has been described as in the top 10 of eyesores in Caithness by community works manager Stuart Bell.
Among the items lying there are sofas, mattresses, fridge freezers and televisions.
Caithness and Sutherland education and enforcement officer James Sanderson said that there are heavy fines for anyone who is caught fly-tipping and he condemned the actions of thoughtless people who spoil the environment they live in.
"As the area is rough ground, it has been used by many people as a place to dump their unwanted items," he said.
"It is atrocious that the area has become damaged and earned its reputation through fly-tipping, so we want to get involved to make sure the problem is sorted.
"The public have demanded that they want something done about this and when they offered their services to solve the problem we wanted to take action as soon as possible.
"Three sides of the area is surrounded by buildings and nobody would enjoy living next door to that amount of mess.
"Hopefully our action will lead to not only improving the environment, but the image of Pulteneytown."
Mr Sanderson also warned that after the area has been cleaned up, any further dumping will be dealt with through investigation and could lead to heavy fines and vehicles being confiscated.
The clean-up will take place on Wednesday (May 30) at 9.30am and volunteers should turn up at the area. Litter-pickers, bags and gloves will be provided.
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Is fly-tipping a problem where you live? e-mail editor@nosn.co.uk
