{"id":151954,"date":"2025-06-02T11:20:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T11:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/151954\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T11:20:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T11:20:18","slug":"southall-residents-demand-action-amid-fly-tipping-explosion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/151954\/","title":{"rendered":"Southall residents demand action amid fly-tipping ‘explosion’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Southall residents are campaigning to tackle what they describe as an explosion in fly-tipping in the area in recent years.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A\u00a0petition<\/a>\u00a0to Ealing Council has garnered nearly 1,800 signatures to date and calls for action such as increased penalties for offenders, the installation of permanent CCTV in fly-tipping<\/a> hotspots and an increase in street cleaning and waste removal services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Southall resident and mother of two Angela Fonso, who has lived in the area for 19 years, is among the leading voices of the campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Angela said: \u201cThere was fly-tipping when I moved into the area, but not to the extent that I\u2019ve seen over the last four years.\u00a0It\u2019s simply exploded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI drove home today and passed so many hotspots. It\u2019s just the norm now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The petition aims to gather enough signatures to trigger a council debate, with Fonso and her fellow campaigners regularly leafleting some of the worst-affected areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mother-of-two has been active in a range of local campaigns including Clean Air for Southall and Hayes<\/a>, and believes fly-tipping is just one symptom of a broader picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fonso said: \u201cIt all feels part of a story of the managed decline of Southall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite all the developments and money coming in, the community continues to be ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

\"\"Image credit: Streets of Southall<\/p>\n

Fly-tipping doesn\u2019t just impact the area\u2019s image and it has made everyday life increasingly difficult for some residents as well.<\/p>\n

Arti, who uses a wheelchair and has muscular dystrophy, related in a TikTok video fly-tipping in Southall has left her feeling isolated and unsafe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her mother is often forced to push her wheelchair into the road to get past due to pavements being frequently blocked by rubbish, leaving Arti exposed to speeding traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cIt makes me anxious going out, and I\u2019ve slowly, slowly cut down on going out due to this issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me really mentally unstable, and I feel trapped, because I can\u2019t do anything about it. I\u2019m trying my very best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fonso said: \u201cIf you go to areas like Ealing Common or Hanwell, you don\u2019t see fly-tipping like this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in Southall,\u00a0it\u2019s everywhere<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 mattresses, black bags, broken furniture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like a slum, and I hate saying that about the place I\u2019ve called home for almost two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

She claimed money is invested into new high-rise development proposals in Southall while residents outside these areas contend with blocked pavements and uncollected rubbish.<\/p>\n

Fonso said: \u201cI feel that we\u2019re neglected and we\u2019re ignored, that it doesn\u2019t matter that there\u2019s extensive fly-tipping, it doesn\u2019t matter that there\u2019s poverty and disadvantaged children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a sacrificial area, and anything goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other contributing factors outlined by Fonso included a rise in houses of multiple occupation and a jump in the area\u2019s student population, without adequate bin provisions to match the increased number of people, as well as commercial traders illegally dumping waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ealing Council estimates around \u00a3550,000 a year is spent on clearing fly-tips in Southall alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An Ealing Council spokesperson said: \u201cWe understand residents\u2019 concerns around fly-tipping and are cracking down on this criminal activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLast month we announced fly-tipping offences will now carry a \u00a31,000 fine, more than double the previous amount of \u00a3400, sending a clear message: illegally dumping waste will not be tolerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlongside the increased fine, an awareness campaign \u2018This is our home, not a tip\u2019 will explain to our communities what fly-tipping is, its impacts and how everyone can help by disposing of waste correctly and reporting fly-tipping.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokeperson added the council issued 46 fines within the first week of the charge increase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They said: \u201cFly-tipping is a drain on council funds which would be better spent on essential services and directly impacts on the environment and people\u2019s quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southall residents have organised a public meeting<\/a>\u00a0for 11 June to propose solutions to the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fonso said: \u201cIt\u2019s not just going to be a moan session, it\u2019s an opportunity for residents to put forward proposals to actually deter fly-tippers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there just needs to be a culture change where there is recognition that it is criminal \u2013 you cannot just dump your junk on the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents can report fly-tipping via the Love Clean Streets<\/a> app, or on the\u00a0Ealing Council website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Streets of Southall<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Southall residents are campaigning to tackle what they describe as an explosion in fly-tipping in the area in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,5034,51794,393,9735,4884,257,64807,27204,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-151954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-council","10":"tag-ealing","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-fly-tipping","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-petition","16":"tag-southall","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114613507000938732","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}