Sutton residents fundraise £3k to clear huge fly-tip with rats

Sutton residents fed up with a rubbish-strewn plot of land have raised £3,000 to clear a long-standing fly-tip dumped there.

evealed the scale of the dumping at the strip of land next to Sutton Station last month, with local Green Party campaigner Helen John describing it as the largest fly-tip she had seen anywhere in the borough.

The community-funded clear up will now see the Albert Road site cleared over three days from July 15, with residents hoping the land will soon return to a more natural state.

Celebrating the achievement, local resident Tom Saunders told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “For six years we’ve looked out onto illegal dumping, rats, antisocial behaviour, abandoned cars and an eyesore in the heart of our community.

“Today, thanks to the generosity of local residents and businesses, that finally starts to change. This clearance has been paid for by the people who have had to live with the problem every single day.”

The fly-tip stretched across a long strip of arid land alongside railway tracks near Sutton Station, which had previously been used for unlawful overflow parking. While the cars were eventually removed with the support of Sutton Council, large amounts of rubbish, including mattresses, furniture, suitcases and other waste, were allowed to accumulate on the site.

The strip of land is also the subject of a long-running dispute between two landowners: one who owns the land where the fly-tip is located and another who owns the adjoining land on Albert Road that borders it. Residents believe the dispute has made it more difficult to clear the site.

However, rather than waiting for the issue to be resolved, members of the local community launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the site to be cleared. Now, just under a month after the GoFundMe page was launched, residents, local businesses and supporters have raised the £3,000 needed to remove the waste.

During the clear-up, waste removal specialists discovered materials that were found to be 80% undisturbed asbestos, requiring them to wear hazmat suits while handling the site.

Helen, who helped residents with the campaign, found this particularly shocking given the site’s close proximity to the surrounding residential area.

Speaking about the fundraiser, she said: “Thank you to everyone who donated, shared the fundraiser, helped with CCTV and signage.

“We even received recent donations from people associated with Patriotic Millionaires UK.

“The community has come together to take practical action and should be incredibly proud of what has been achieved.

"The site is being watched, recorded and cared about, and hopefully the council will now take swifter action if problems pop up again.”

Local resident Tom added: “We’re incredibly proud of what our community has achieved together, but we also hope this is the catalyst for lasting action so this land can never fall into this state again.

He added: “Plus, there are lots of smiles from people passing, saying, ‘Really great to see it cleared… there just seems to be no accountability anymore, does there? Good to see the community taking real action when the council doesn’t’.”

The clean-up was also welcomed by landlord Andrew Devlin, who owns property on the adjoining Victoria Road. He said the fly-tip had affected perceptions of the surrounding area.

“As a landlord, it means a great deal to have this rubbish removed,” he told the LDRS. “Potential tenants have commented on the fly-tipping and its negative implications, as well as how unsightly it is. It’s been there far too long, so it’s a good day.”

Residents hope the clearance will prevent the area from once again becoming covered in dumped waste. CCTV and signage installed as part of the community effort will remain in place in an attempt to deter future fly-tipping.

While the clean-up has transformed the site, campaigners say they want it to mark the beginning rather than the end of improvements. They previously told the LDRS they would like to see the land turned into a community garden or allotments, while acknowledging that they do not own the site.

The land has been the subject of an ownership dispute in recent years. The two main parties at the centre of the dispute are Czech developer Charles Stein, whose company Metropolitan Resources Limited owns the land where the fly-tipping has accumulated, and William Batchelor, who owns a strip of land on Albert Road bordering Mr Stein’s site.

The residents hope the success of the fundraising campaign will encourage lasting action to ensure the land does not fall back into the same condition.

Sutton Council said it “always welcomes residents’ commitment to improving their local area” and “understands their frustration with the condition of the site”. It also confirmed they will continue to monitor the site and take appropriate enforcement action where necessary.

However, a spokesperson added: “As this is private land, we will continue to work to ensure the owner complies with the requirements of the Planning Enforcement Notice we issued. This  includes restoring the land to its original state.”

They also reiterated that responsibility for maintaining the site and preventing further waste from accumulating rests with the landowner. The council added that anyone entering the land without the owner’s permission could be trespassing and, as a result, it cannot support community-led clearance work.

It said it would continue to engage with the landowner and respond to any further issues within its legal powers.