Rubbish strewn over waste ground between a busy Overground station and residential homes is an eyesore disfiguring New Cross, according to local people.

Dirty bottles, bin bags and broken furniture are just some of the items littering the 1.5-acre yard, which is separated on one side from gardens and a children’s playground by a single wall. On the other side of the site is the busy New Cross Gate station. Neighbours in Goodward Road whose houses back onto the site described the situation as “disgusting”.

According to local councillor Joe Dromey, who has been pressing for action, a large quantity of building waste appeared when travellers were on the site before Christmas.

He told Eastlondonlines: “As the travellers moved off, it appears they left behind a lot of building waste. Tons of waste. But the problem is this is private land, and the owner is responsible for clearing it and for bearing the cost of doing this.”

He tweeted that the landowner was now saying they could not afford to pay the clearance costs. Lewisham Council staff and councillors, he said, were doing their best to get the site cleared.

Update on Deptford Dump: Landowner now saying can’t afford to clear. Cllrs & officers pushing them to do so asap pic.twitter.com/JGp3BXnWJ9

— Joe Dromey (@Joe_Dromey) February 1, 2016

 

A few centimetres separate children from the pile of trash. Pic: Areej Zayat

This week Eastlondonlines visited the site and spoke to two people who were sorting through the rubbish. They preferred to stay anonymous, but confirmed that they were working for a construction company hired by the landowner to start clearing the area. They said they expected the process to last at least four weeks.

Lewisham Council has told Eastlondonlines it wants to ensure that the land is cleaned up, and also that the people responsible for dumping the waste are tracked down. The Environment Agency has also been brought in to help with the investigation.

The view from a nearby house window. Pic: Areej Zayat

Large scale and serious incidents of illegal waste disposal or fly-tipping can be reported by calling either the Environment Agency on their national hotline: 0800 807 060 or checking online at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

Follow Areej Zayat on Twitter @ZayatAreej