Rat fears at ‘disgusting’ fly-tipping site near city centre

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

A Welsh council has come under fire from angry residents for failing to clear a pile of fly-tipped waste near the city centre.

Newport councillor David Fouweather said he and people living near the mound of illegally dumped rubbish had made repeated calls to the city council, asking for it to be cleared.

A local resident, who asked not to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the community had “had enough” of waste being fly-tipped at the site, next to the former Royal Mail pub in Factory Road – half a mile from the council’s headquarters.

Nappies

Nappies, bags of household waste, a pram, wooden pallets and a host of other items and detritus form a mound of waste several metres high, with a swarm of flies visibly hovering overhead.

The resident said rats had been seen scurrying around the site, and the smell emanating from it was “disgusting”.

The council’s environmental health team had been contacted several times but the pile of waste continued to grow, they claimed.

Cllr Fouweather said he was receiving calls “daily” from angry members of the community who wanted the problem solved.

The resident also pointed out how waste and littering plagued the area, including an old underpass area in Mill Street opposite the pub, and other areas of private land.

Newport City Council was contacted for comment.