Oldham communities taking action against fly tipping are turning dirty alleyways into beauty spots
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Last updated 8th Jun 2018
Communities in Oldham who are fed up of fly-tipping are swapping old fridges and mattresses for flowers and artwork in the alleyways behind their homes thanks to a new initative called Love Where You Live.
In partnership with Oldham Council, environmental charity Hubbub and the social enterprise IF Oldham, residents in Oldham are rolling up their sleeves to clean away mouldy old sofas, unwanted white goods and piles of rubbish to replace them with plants, trees, benches and children’s play equipment in a bid to create pretty spaces for local people to enjoy and socialise.
A pop-up exhibition has launched today and is open throughout June in Oldham Town Centre, inspiring others to join forces and take action.
Oldham Council are adding further support by committing to create a fund, which will be available on application to individuals and community groups who would like to transform their alleyways.
Fly-tipping in England cost over £57 million to clear up in 2016/2017 and the annual cost of dealing with fly-tipping in Oldham is over £1million each year.
It's money that the council say could be spent on employing 25 more secondary school teachers, fixing 10,000 pot holes or running 200 school breakfast clubs.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Oldham Council, said: “If residents want to make a stand against fly-tipping, reclaim their space and restore pride in their area, we’re really happy to support them with finance and guidance. We’re keen to see other communities replicating these amazing alley transformations and would urge interested parties to come forward.
“We take a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping and will continue to enforce against people who dump or fly-tip. People deserve better – to live in nice streets. Let’s show the rest of the country how beautiful Oldham really is and keep our alleyways clean and green!”
Coppice resident Maureen McGrath involved in transforming the alleyway behind her house said: “The passion to transform the area behind our houses started because we love where we live. We have amazing neighbours and we were getting overwhelmed by the alleyway being a dumping ground for general rubbish, mattresses and even old kitchens. I feel really proud that we have transformed an environment that brought us continued frustration and despair into one that brings us joy and hope.”
If you're interested in tackling fly-tipping in your street visit www.hubbub.org.uk/lovewhereyoulive for inspiration and guidance
Oldham residents can apply to win the items exhibited in the Love Where You Live installation as well as additional support from Oldham Council to transform their alleyway by emailing ‘Alleyway application’ to hello@hubbub.org.uk.