EYESORE fly-tipping at a former factory site in Lymm earmarked for housing is set to be cleared imminently.
Local residents hit out at the fly-tipping at the former Elastomer site bordering Millers Lane and Carlton Road, now earmarked for housing, saying the situation had been getting worse over a period of three years.
A concerned resident who contacted Warrington Worldwide said: “Industrial fly-tipping has been going on for nearly three years and nothing seems to be happening, just more white vans turning up and sometimes skip loads of industrial waste, old electrical items, cookers, beds, mattresses, building materials and other household mess – has been dumped and fly-tipped on this site over in Lymm in Warrington, its got a lot worse this year.
“There have been tales of rats and other vermin, over the last few weeks – more and more keeps turning up and nothing is been done, the local council need to be pressed into further action, we have emailed a number of times and the issues just keep rising.”
Cllr Graham Gowland commented on the issues raised, saying “The former factory site was vacated when Elastomer, a long-term employer in Lymm, moved to Leyland. This left a vacant brownfield site that was passed for outline development in 2021. As part of the outline approval, there were some specific areas that still needed clarifying, including road layouts. Demolition of the factory was approved, and this has been carried out, but we are still awaiting information on the ‘reserved matters’. Residents have raised concerns about the demolition debris still on the site, but also what appears to be fly-tipped waste. I have raised this issue of the waste with the relevant officers and am following up the outstanding planning issues. I’d encourage residents to always use the planning process to raise their concerns and can confirm Lymm Parish Council has asked for any final decisions to be made at a DMC meeting. I’m a Lymm Councillor, but not the Ward Councillor. Cllr Marks has already raised residents’ concerns, and I’m happy to support with this evolving issue during the holiday period.”
Cllr Gowland added: “The site agent has just confirmed the dumped waste will be cleared within a week. He also confirmed it wasn’t their waste.”
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “A formal notice was issued to the landowners requesting they remove all waste material from the land and the owners have confirmed that the site will be tidied up imminently. Evidence of who fly-tipped the waste has been provided and we are currently investigating.
“In some instances, waste is on private land which is for the landowner to remove even if it has been dumped illegally. If the landowner identifies evidence that would assist us to take action then we will investigate. Criminal action can and will follow where evidence is found, leading to those responsible for dumping waste. That might be from eye witnesses or from CCTV or from within the waste itself.
“We are sympathetic to local landowners who suffer from the blight of fly-tipping and then additionally have the financial burden of removal of that waste. Equally, we recognise that fly-tipping blights our communities and local residents are keen to ensure it is removed quickly and those responsible prosecuted. It’s key that anyone who witnesses fly-tipping contacts us with as much information as possible so we can investigate and take action.
“Issues can be reported to the Contact Centre on 01925 443322 or via warrington.gov.uk/report.”
Planning permission was originally approved for nine three-storey properties on the site in October 2020 but never progressed. A more recent application suggested nine four-storey properties.
Residents’ concern over four-storey houses plan for former factory site
