Fly-tipping leaves Coventry community in squalor
Fly-tipping around a notorious rubbish black spot in Foleshill is worse than ever according to residents
A community in Foleshill feel like they're ‘living in squalor’ with rats as big as cats, as fly-tipping around a notorious rubbish black spot in in the area gets worse.
Mattresses, sofas and other items of furniture have been dumped in Culworth Court and the long-running problem has been going on for more than a decade.
David Gilbert is a born and bred Coventrian and has lived at Culworth Court for the past 41 years. For months he has been sending pictures of the piles of rubbish to politicians and Marstons – the Coventry company that manages the blocks of flats off Eld Road.
“It has been ongoing for the best part of ten to 15 years and at the moment it is like living in squalor,” he admitted. “I send pictures two or three times a week to Marstons, local MP Mary Creagh and Abdul Khan the councillor.
"I got a reply from Mary Creagh six or nine months ago saying that she had contacted Marstons but nothing has happened. I have also had a few replies from Abdul Khan but nothing recently.
“We used to have a chap come around most days – a groundsman with a pick-up, He used to clear the rubbish but I haven’t seen him for a long time so there is nothing happening, We are paying £100 service charge per month and there are 64 flats here.
"We do get a cleaner come around who does the landings inside the flats but they seem to have gotten rid of the guy for outside. The rubbish has been building up over the past three or four months and it is getting worse and worse.
“Once the bins are full, people who live here just chuck the black bags on the floor so there is rubbish strewn all over the place and we have rats and foxes. Someone the other week said they had seen a rat the size of a cat.
“I would say that 90 per cent is from people living in the flats but I saw one chap pull up in a van. I thought he was going to one of the garages. He took out a fridge/freezer, got in and drove off.
"I thought he’d gone to get the keys for his garage. He left in there in the middle of the roadway. We have also had cars dumped around here. It’s getting worse now because that groundsman doesn’t seem to be employed any more. Up until about 15 years ago it was nice living here.”
Marstons were approached for a comment