South Hampstead fly-tipping hotspot in Alexandra Place 'disgusting'

The communal bins in Alexandra Place, which are meant to be for general waste and recycling, have been dumped with building materials and large household items such as mattresses, sofas and an industrial fridge.

Local resident Patrick Couderc said vans and cars have been disposing of their rubbish outside the bins on the pavement early in the morning before scarpering.

He said untied wet bin bags causing spillages were sometimes left unattended for two or three days, turning the street into a “complete mess”. He said this put residents’ health at risk.

Camden Council said anyone dumping rubbish around the bins was fly-tipping, and that its officers were “monitoring the situation”.

Resident Patrick Couderc called for tougher action on fly-tippers (Image: Patrick Couderc)

Patrick told the Ham&High: “It is disappointing seeing cars and vans driving from other locations coming over to our neighbourhood to dump building rubble, garden refuse, house clearance items, or even a two-metre wide industrial fridge, as it was the case about a month ago.

“As to untied bags with wet refuse, sometimes dumped by members of our own community, there is no word other than disgusting to describe it.

“Together with other local residents, we asked for more support from Camden Council to take action against those identified but very little action until now.”

Patrick suggested parking attendants should alert enforcement officers to fly-tipping hotspots.

“There is a real opportunity to collect punitive littering fines at a time when increased funding is needed for a multitude of reasons,” he said.

Chairs and sofas have been disposed on the street (Image: Patrick Couderc)

On two occasions in December an unmarked tipping lorry dumped rubbish equivalent to the volume of a 12ft skip, the resident said.

The street’s fly-tips were a combination of residents’ refuse and industrial waste from rogue vehicles, he added.

A spokesperson for Camden Council said: “These bins are exclusively for the household waste and recyclables of Alexandra Place Estate residents.

“Non-residents and businesses placing their waste in these bins, and anyone placing waste items around them, is fly-tipping - which is a criminal offence.

“The council’s environmental enforcement officers and the local Estates Services team have been notified and will be monitoring the situation.”