The estate between Fern Street and Blackshaw Lane has been the site of repeated large fly-tipping incidents in recent months, with some residents resorting to clearing things up for themselves.
Bolton Council has been made aware of the incidents, but residents are concerned that measures are reactive rather than preventative.
Recent fly-tipping on the estate (Image: Ahmad Alsamdai)
Resident Ahmad Alsamdai said: “I’ve had to ring family members to help clear things, which I don’t like doing.
“They occasionally send someone to clear it but it keeps recurring all the time – I’m on the phone to Bolton at Home or Bolton Council every other week.
“Council tax has just gone up – I know it covers a lot of other things, but one of the charges is for environmental health.”
Ahmad is concerned that, although rubbish does eventually get removed, not enough is being done to prevent new issues from occurring.
“I’ve suggested CCTV cameras, but they’ve said they wouldn’t be useful because they wouldn’t be able to identify people,” said Ahmad, “But surely it would help.”
Ward councillor Abdul Atcha had not previously been made aware of the issue, but has confirmed he will attend the site to take a view of what could be done.
A recent fly-tipping incident on the estate (Image: Ahmad Alsamdai)
Cllr Atcha said: “For the last few months we’ve have a dedicated enforcement officer who can help with issues like this.
“Since he came in we’ve had an increase in the number of people caught for fly-tipping, and the number of fines has gone up.
“I will let the officer know that this has been happening.”
Cllr Atcha urged residents to copy himself and the other ward councillors into any communications they have regarding fly tipping, as this ensures problems are dealt with quickly.
In a statement, Bolton Council said: “The fly- tip around Fern Street has now been cleared.
“We will continue to monitor the area during our regular patrols.”
Bolton Council have been reached for further comment.
Recent research from the BBC Shared Data Department showed that Bolton experienced the third highest increase in large fly-tipping incidents between 2020 and this year.
There were 934 tipper-lorry-sized incidents in Bolton between 2024/25 – in 2019/20, this figure was 54, an increase of almost 20x.
Cllr Richard Silvester, Executive Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, put this increase down to the council’s increased focus on the reporting of incidents.
He added: “It shows that the Labour administration is cleaning up the borough as we had promised in our local manifesto.
“The figures show that we are taking fly tipping seriously and getting these incidents reported.”