Landowners hit back at clean-up

Several weeks ago, Bassetlaw District Council served notice on the owners of land to the rear of the Trent Port Public house in Saundby that has seen continued fly tipping and the burning of waste.

The council has issued the landowners with a Notice under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requiring them to take specified steps to clear the fly-tipping and secure the site to prevent vehicles freely accessing the land in the future.

The site is situated on the Bassetlaw border with West Lindsey and has led to frequent visits from the emergency fire and rescue teams from both Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

But now, the owners of the land, Niman and Co solicitors in London, have spoken against the order and say they want to appeal against it.

“We are strongly opposed to this,” said Geoffrey Niman from the law firm. “Our problem is that we are are the victim of travellers and we’ll be launching an appeal against this at Worksop Magistrates Court.”

“This is ridiculous because there is nothing we can do because it’s open land – the only way to stop people from accessing it is to surround the whole area with an electric fence.”

He continued: “If people want to access the land then they will do so and there’s no way we’ll get planning permission to close it off.”

“This is nine and a half acres of land and the cost of securing that land and preventing people from entering will be infinite and this is simply a case of passing the buck.”

Bassetlaw District Council refused to comment on the appeal.

“Landowners have a legal obligation to keep their land clear of refuse and litter and are given the opportunity to voluntarily take the appropriate steps to address these issues,” said Director of community services when the order was issued.

A council spokesman added: “Should the landowner refuse to comply with the terms of the notice, the Council has the power to undertake the clean-up works itself and to recover the costs from the landowner.”

“I would also appeal to the public to help by reporting details of any vehicles they see tipping, including the date and registration numbers to our Environmental Health Team on 01909 533 219.”