'Industrial level fly-tipping' leaving Peterborough city centre street 'resembling the third world' claims resident

A Peterborough resident has said ‘industrial level fly-tipping’ is causing major issues in a city centre street.

Piles of rubbish have been left to build up at the flats in Priestgate, where the Peterborough Evening Telegraph offices used to be located.

Residents have spoken of problems with rats in the street.

Belgravia Block Management, which runs the flats, said the rubbish was not only coming from residents in the building, but also from fly-tipping from other sources, and residents will now have weekly, rather than fortnightly collections.

But one resident living in Priestgate, who asked not to be named, said the problem had been getting worse for some time. He said: “It is a situation that has been building for some time. Some people do not have the same ‘bin etiquette’ as others.

"There has also been fly-tipping on an industrial scale there.

"The bins are not collected if they are full and the lid is open, so it gets worse. It looks like something from the third world.

"There are rats on the street as a result.

"It is the first thing some people see when they come into the city centre. It is a disgrace.”

The rubbish was cleared earlier this week – and Belgravia said there was action being taken to stop it happening again in the future.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “The site is on fortnightly collections with the council and recently we have seen an increase in refuse which we believe to not only be residents waste but fly tipping also.

“In addition to the excess refuse, we do also have issues with homeless individuals going through the bins and placing them in different formations to provide a degree of shelter.

“When reported, we have the bins moved or excess waste collected – usually within 24 hours.

“As we have seen a dramatic increase in the excess waste in last 3 weeks, we have been in contact with Peterborough Council to get leaflets out to residents for better explanation on how to deal with their refuse but also entered into an agreement to move from fortnightly collections to weekly collections for both general refuse and recycling.”