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Council men tear down tip posters
Reporter: Ken Bennett
Date online: 23/02/2009
AN investigation will be launched today into why anti-tipping posters were torn from gardens near a controversial landfill site.
The yellow posters were among more than 400 distributed to householders near Birks Quarry on the Lees-Austerlands border.
The posters are the first step by the newly-formed Birks Quarry Action Group to derail a tipping permit application at the Huddersfield Road site.
Residents fixed posters to stakes and put them in their gardens near the quarry entrance.
But a row erupted when a team of workmen from Oldham’s Street Scene drove away with them in a council truck.
Former police constable Karen Donald (49), whose land fronts Huddersfield Road, said: “I ran out of the house but by the time I got to the road they were in their van.
“I tried to remonstrate with them, but they laughed, waved and drove off.”
Mrs Donald contacted Street Scene. She said: “I was told they were having a purge on fly posting, but I pointed out their staff had come on to private property and taken the posters out of people’s gardens.
“He apologised and promised to get all the sticks and posters back to me.”
Her neighbours 75-year-old Mick Moore, who lives near the quarry entrance, has two posters on stakes removed from his front garden.
He said: “The first I knew they had gone was when a neighbour told my wife someone had seen them being taken by workmen.”
Another local, David Wilde (72) said posters were removed from his garden too.
“I couldn’t believed they had gone,” he said. “Like others, we just wanted to show our support for the campaign.”
Oldham Council’s Street Scene manager Peter Raferty said: “We can confirm that a Street Scene team did remove several placards from what at first appeared to be unmaintained land on Huddersfield Road.
“The council operates a strict policy against fly posting and our teams are instructed to remove any that they come across.
“In this case the correct procedure was followed, but nobody realised the land was owned by a resident.
“As soon as the mistake was realised we returned all the placards and gave her our apologies.”
Councillor Barbara Beeley, the action group’s chairman, said: “The department will be holding an investigation and have promised to report back.
“Our action group provided posters so people could show their disapproval of the development plans for Birks Quarry.
“However there has been fly posting across the area but I will wait to hear the results of their inquiry.”
Have Your Say
So the council now have the right to walk into your garden and remove what they want, its a shame they can't pick the wheelie bins as well
well they dont seem to do a good job most of the time! had the cleaners got out of the right side of bed that day?
"What appeared to be unmaintained land"? I bet the residents were pleased to hear there gardens described as such! I wonder what will happen at the next election? will these bozos go around ripping up all the election placards in people's gardens - sorry, I mean on unmaintained land!
1988 to 1994: Oldham Council spend £250,000, vigorously fighting 4 public inquiries and a judicial review, to oppose planning permission to tip in Birks Quarry.
January 2009 Oldham Council miss deadline to oppose tipping in Birks Quarry.
February 2009: Oldham Council 'Street Scene' team remove placards protesting at tipping in Birks Quarry.
Are they trying to tell us something?
Meldroo if they think it was unmaintained land then what do they make of the entire area of oldham? its so unmaintained i'd class the whole of oldham as a tip!
looking at the photo, the land does look "unmantained" the team have an instruction to remove any "illegal" posters which are on the highway or affixed to lamps etc. Without checking adoption plans (which is not an option in a transit van)you can see where the team may have made a mistake.BUT this could be a "conspiracy".The team were only following instructions but from whom???
Street Scene, who are they? There is plenty for them to do in Moorside. They could start with that ghastly play park created by Oldham Council - sadly no posters to remove, but lots of bottles, broken glass, pizza boxes, chip trays, chocolate wrappers etc to start with.
Fly posters ? On stakes ? That's a new one ! Fly posters usually stick up what they can and where they can and skedaddle asap. They don't make stakes and stand them in gardens.
By morgana60 @ 23/02/2009 13:49:17
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