Council teams and volunteers work tirelessly to clear up waste left in Weelsby Woods

The group arrived in May and were served with a Notice of Direction to leave the park shortly after and have today (Thursday 5 June) vacated the area.

Now, a specialist clean up team have removed numerous items of fly-tipping including garden waste, fences and general litter from the site. Following this, volunteers from Friends of Weelsby Woods and Linkage took part in a litter pick to clear up the remaining litter.

Amongst the waste were materials with evidence possibly linked to addresses in North East Lincolnshire, which the Environmental Enforcement team is now investigating. Anyone who may have used an unlicensed contractor to remove waste or carry out work could be held liable for any resulting prosecution.

In light of this, the Council are advising residents to ensure the person or company removing their waste is a licenced waste carrier, which you can check by visiting https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers.

Whether you are a private householder or a business you have a duty in law to ensure that you store and dispose of your waste correctly. If you give your waste to a person that is not a registered waste carrier you may be committing an offence and be held accountable.

While householders are not explicitly required to obtain receipts, it is highly recommended to keep records, such as waste transfer notes or receipts, as proof that the waste was transferred responsibly. 

This documentation can help protect against liability if the waste is fly tipped.

Addressing the issue, Councillor Ron Shepherd, Portfolio Holder for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “I would like to start by saying thank you to the Grounds Maintenance team and the volunteers who gave their time to remove all the waste from Weelsby Woods.

“The Council want to protect our green spaces and do not condone this behaviour from anybody who visits the parks across North East Lincolnshire.

“We respect the Travelling community and their way of life, but expect them to adhere to the rules and regulations that everyone else must.”

In 2022, the Council’s Cabinet approved the implementation of negotiated stopping agreements (NSAs) with the gypsy and traveller community.

Dependent on the sensitivity of the land visited, this approach would mean that gypsy and travellers visiting North East Lincolnshire will be able to stay for a limited period of time, with the provision of limited services such as water, waste disposal and toilets, subject to agreeing a set of conduct principles.

Ultimately, This approach means that a group of gypsy or travellers residing on particularly sensitive land illegally can temporarily be moved on to a more appropriate area of land swiftly, where they can stay for up to 14 days. If an agreement cannot be reached, the usual legal process will be followed to evict them from their unauthorised encampment, which has been the case in Weelsby Woods.

Following today’s clean-up, Lee Gray, Chair of Friends of Weelsby Woods, added: “We're obviously disappointed it's happened, but would like to thank the Council and volunteers for their outstanding efforts throughout the whole situation.

“Looking ahead, we are planning a community meeting to look at how we can best keep this issue from happening again. The group will be working with other partners to do all we can moving forward.”