WELCOME TO Saddleworth … and dump your rubbish on our lovely landscapes.
Our shocking picture was taken at Brunclough reservoir, one of the main gateways to our community on the A62 linking Standedge to Marsden.
Three-seater settees, beds, armchairs and an array of household furniture was strewn across a car park just a few yards from the former favourite fishing spot of an angling club.
Hard-pressed teams from Saddleworth’s Street Scene quickly removed the eyesore underpinning the sad fact fly-tipping has increased – particularly at lonely spots on Saddleworth’s borders with Huddersfield and Greater Manchester.
But now the charity Emmaus has stepped in and suggested dumped goods could benefit the homeless.
They provide 24 people with a place to live and work and control two shops – in Uppermill and Mossley.
And a long-term resident at Emmaus Mossley, appealed to the tippers: “We accept all sorts of items from furniture to white goods.
“If you are not sure whether we’ll take something that you want to get rid of, just give us a ring.
“Unwanted goods are what make Emmaus work,” he explained. “If we didn’t have donations we wouldn’t have a place to live, so please don’t forget to give us a call and we will see whether we can help keep the moors looking beautiful and our shops looking full.”
“We also organise ‘don’t dump it days’ at your places of work, so if you can’t make it to the shop or wait in for us to make a collection from your house then we can come to your work and collect items from you there.”
Meantime, OMBC and Saddleworth parish councillor Alan Roughley, an ardent champion of the moors, said: “This is fly-tipping on an industrial scale and once again suspiciously close to the border with West Yorkshire.
“I will be checking the borough is working closely with their counterparts in Kirklees and Calderdale on what is an increasingly worrying problem.
“The solution has to be that Illegal tippers are spotted and successfully prosecuted. We cannot allow Saddleworth to become a recognised dumping ground for both Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.”
And he urged passing drivers to use mobile phones to take pictures of offending vehicles – without putting themselves at risk.
“A quick photo of the offending vehicle, including its number plate, could be passed to Street Scene and provide real evidence that would stand up in court.”
He added: “What is really annoying is many of the dumped items could have been passed on to charities such as Emmaus or The Salvation Army.
“We should not allow cowboy builders and cut price house clearance people to get away with it.
“Not only are they breaking the law and causing considerable needless expense to honest tax payers, they are also undercutting legitimate firms and quite possibly driving them out of business.”
Cllr Jean Stretton, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Devolved Services, said: “The majority of residents take pride in their community and clean up after themselves but a small minority think they can break the law.
“The council will do everything it can to trace those responsible for dumping this waste and we will prosecute if evidence is found.”
Anyone who has any information about this incident, or any fly-tipping across the borough, should call: 0161 770 2244 or e-mail: contact@oldham.gov.uk
Emmaus Mossley opened in 1997. There are two shops: one at Longlands Mill, Queen Street, Mossley OL5 9AH and their boutique store 2a, Mill Street, Uppermill, OL3 6HT. Contact: 01457 838608.
An up-cycling Emmaus group runs every Friday between 10am – 12noon, where anyone from complete beginners can learn how to make funky new goods from unwanted items.
For more information: www.emmausmossley.org or www.emmaus.org.uk
How would YOU prevent fly-tipping? Ideas please to: aimee@saddind.co.uk
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