AN EVESHAM eyesore has been cleaned up thanks to a joint effort between Wychavon officers, the community and the landowner.
Campaigners from Evesham Anti-Litter Group raised concerns about the state of a car park off Lower Leys in Bengeworth following a routine litter pick.
A storage container on the site was in a state of disrepair, having been torched, while it was also attracting more litter and other debris.
Officers from Wychavon’s environmental protection team visited the site and agreed it was having a detrimental impact on the surrounding area, businesses and residents.
An investigation was launched to identify the landowner and a Community Protection Warning (CPW) was issued in July.
This alerted the landowner to the problem and set them a deadline to remove the container and waste. Failure to respond to a CPW will result in a Community Protection Notice being issued, which is a criminal offence to ignore and can result in court action.
In this case the landowner was happy to work with Wychavon to rectify the situation and the container has now been removed and the land cleaned up.
Officers are now looking at tackling other issues on the site including people abandoning vehicles.
The site is one of a number of pieces of private land across the district affected by fly-tipping and littering and officers from Wychavon are actively working with landowners to resolve issues raised.
Coun Emma Stokes, responsible for environment on Wychavon District Council, said: “This is a great example of where the community, Wychavon and the landowner have worked together to resolve an issue that has been a problem for a long time.
“I’m delighted to see an improvement to the appearance of the site. Landowners need to ensure they meet their responsibilities but we’d always rather work with people than take legal action.
“So if you’re a landowner and you get one of these letters, we’d urge you to get in touch with us so we can find a way to resolve the issue together.”
