Aldeburgh Street Greenwich plagued by fly-tipping

Aldeburgh Street sits in Greenwich Peninsula, just west of Charlton.

Residents of the street have sent a petition to Greenwich Council asking for the authority to take measures to prevent fly-tipping in the area, which they said is a “daily occurrence”.

The petition has received 108 signatures and claims that the waste on the street can block wheelchairs, baby buggies and other residents from getting through the footpath.

Eric Lanza, 32, moved to Aldeburgh Street two years ago.

He said many residents are in a local WhatsApp group to warn each other when waste has been dumped on the street.

Mr Lanza told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “There are always people dropping rubbish on the street. Sometimes I see boxes all around the place. Foxes just go into bags and break them apart and all the rubbish gets spread around… It looks messy.”

He added: “We have neighbours that go around every now and then and pick the rubbish around here and in the park. We try to keep it clean as a community.”

Greenwich Council documents said the authority’s street services had received 20 reports of fly-tipping in Aldeburgh Street since April 2023.

They said the council had taken a number of approaches to discourage fly-tipping including educating local residents and businesses on the issue and removing dumped items in a timely manner.

Sarah Foot, 30, has lived on Aldeburgh Street for nine years.

She said people often pull up to the road in cars and toss bags of rubbish and an assortment of items at the end of the street.

Ms Foot told the LDRS: “Animals would rip the bags apart and then it would just be everywhere, which is gross and annoying.

"But honestly, there’s been anything from armchairs, old dishwashers and really bulky stuff. I know quite a few people on the street that would walk down with a buggy or a wheelchair and the rubbish is just so in the way that it means that they have to figure out getting around the cars and then go on the road, which isn’t as safe.”

The petition sent to Greenwich Council calls on the authority to add a kerb build out, large planting and a CCTV camera to Aldeburgh Street to try to reduce fly-tipping.

However, Ms Foot claimed that local councillors told her a CCTV camera would be a possible privacy issue for houses in its field of vision.

Greenwich Council officers said in a report that CCTV cameras were primarily placed in town centre locations and that Aldeburgh Street was not covered.

They added that a temporary mobile camera was being considered for the area, but emphasised that CCTV footage alone was not enough to enforce convictions or fines on those illegally dumping waste.

Linda Vowles, 69, has lived on Aldeburgh Street for 42 years but said fly-tipping had only become an issue in the area in the past couple of years.

She said people usually dump rubbish overnight and early in the morning when nobody is around, and that locals have found mattresses, fridges and freezers being left at the end of the road.

Ms Vowles told the LDRS: “It’s a nuisance but if you ring the council, they don’t want to do anything about it… It was such a lovely street when we first moved down here but then we started getting all the fly-tipping. It’s not very nice and it’s getting worse.”

The mum said she can remember when street sweepers used to come through the road when her family first moved to the area.

She added that it’s “ridiculous” that locals sometimes can’t even walk down the footpath due to the amount of rubbish.

Council officers said in their report that the authority’s taskforce team to deal with fly-tipping had been increased by 50per cent recently to operate for five days a week across Plumstead, Charlton, Abbey Wood and Woolwich.

They added that the council’s highways department felt a kerb build out and planting would not prevent fly-tipping and could even become a trap for rubbish.

A Greenwich Council spokesperson told the LDRS: “We take residents’ concerns about fly-tipping very seriously and it is something we’re committed to tackling across Royal Greenwich. In the last year, we reduced fly-tipping boroughwide by 12.75per cent and will continue to work towards reducing this even further.”

The spokesperson said the council’s street services team visit Aldeburgh Street weekly for scheduled cleaning, with all fly-tips being cleared within 48 hours of being reported and the majority being removed within 24 hours.

They said additional staff had recently been included to tackle fly-tipping in the borough and the authority was considering adding temporary CCTV to Aldeburgh Street.

They added: “Everyone has a part to play to ensure the borough is kept clean and tidy, which is why we are engaging with residents in targeted areas to educate them on how to dispose of waste properly and we enforce where we can. There is absolutely no excuse for dumping rubbish illegally and there will be consequences for anyone who is caught committing a crime against the environment in our borough.”