By Matt Jarram, Local Democracy Reporter
Residents living in part of Nottingham say they have been left ‘disgusted’ with the amount of discarded waste left on several streets.
Discarded food including out-of-date chicken and bread have been left strewn across Lenton as well as beer cans and bottles, with many bins overflowing with rubbish.
Nottingham City Council says there will be a delay in cleaning up the mess as a proportion of its cleaners are self-isolating after being ‘pinged’ to self-isolate on the NHS Covid-19 app.
Refrigerators, mattresses, clothes racks, duvets and a sofa have also been left on the streets, with residents complaining the area is now being populated with rats.
The councillor in charge of waste said some of the problems were caused by students staying in properties longer this year and the handover had been “a lot shorter so condensed the problem”.
She said the authority will be taking enforcement action against landlords who fail to clear up the waste.
Areas where waste has been left include Kimbolton Avenue, Harlaxton Drive, Albert Grove, Johnson Road and Dunlop Avenue.
Kate Loewenthal, from Lenton Drives and Neighbours Residents’ Association, said: “Honestly it is disgusting. It is all well and good getting the council to clear it up but that is taxpayers’ money.
“There is rats everywhere, residents have seen so many. It is just awful. On Kimbolton Avenue, there was a raw chicken breast in the road with flies all over it. There are residents living among that.”
Councillor Rosemary Healy, in charge of waste at Nottingham City Council, said: “Fly tipping is a huge issue particularly with people cleaning out flats and houses and dumping it.
“We will clear it but we will try and prosecute when we can. We have got a huge pressure on staff with pinging on the NHS app and we are drafting in people from other areas of the council to maintain these lorries.
“If you have noticed fly tipping being collected has got worse that is the reason why. We have simply not been able to collect it as quickly as usual so people will see what the scale of the problem is like.
“But it is not just students. It is tenancies ending as well.”
