The site of a former Sainsbury’s supermarket in Shaftesbury, Newport, has become a notorious hotspot for fly-tippers, causing outrage among local residents and councillors. The parcel of land, now owned by the Fear Group, is littered with waste ranging from bags of used needles to discarded furniture, making a mess visible from the main B4591 road – much to the chagrin of the community.
Despite efforts and significant expenditure to clear the site, the owners are struggling to keep up with the relentless illegal dumping, which has once again led to the area being cordoned off as a crime scene. Local Labour councillor Paul Cockeram has expressed his frustration, calling the situation unacceptable and labelling it the « bane of the community. »
Plans by the Fear Group to redevelop the site into a £60 million complex of apartments and a hotel were abandoned after an arson attack, and although they have been looking to sell since 2016, the land remains unsold.
Cllr Cockeram expressed his disappointment over the state of a private site in Newport, stating: « Unfortunately it’s a private site so there isn’t much the council can do, which is a shame because this road is a gateway to Newport and the thousands of motorists driving in and out of Newport can see it. It’s terrible. It’s overgrown with trees, rubbish being dumped – you name it everything is there. »
He added that despite numerous clean-up efforts by groups like Pride in Pill, the responsibility should not fall on volunteers. « There have been lots of litter picks and waste collections by groups like Pride in Pill over the years but really it shouldn’t rely on volunteers like that. In the local development plan it’s earmarked for housing but nothing has ever happened.
I hope eventually homes are built there because we need more homes in Newport. It’s the one issue in Shaftesbury which should be a priority but sadly we’re at the mercy of a private developer.
Hopefully it is sold soon and we see homes on it rather than rubbish. Who I feel most sorry for in all of this is the poor residents of Evans Street who have to witness that all of the time. », reports Wales Online.
Leon Fear from Fear Group told WalesOnline in 2020 that the company still wanted to see the site developed but said there were « no immediate plans for the site » due to the pandemic.
« We are aware of the ongoing illegal dumping of waste on the former Sainsbury’s site in Newport city centre and have spent thousands of pounds with licensed waste carriers over the years removing waste including during the recent weeks and months throughout the pandemic, » he said at the time.
Mr Fear highlighted the ongoing battle with illegal fly-tippers at a problematic site, stating: « Previous attempts at fencing sections of the site have resulted in the fencing being stolen; however the site is well defined by brick walls and concrete blockades preventing vehicles entering the site and is private land with no rights of way across any part.
Anyone accessing or dumping anything on the land is doing so illegally. »
He also mentioned that securing the site from such activities remains challenging and that there is « regular dialogue with environmental control at the city council » to address the situation.
Meanwhile, Green Party councillor Lauren James expressed local residents’ anger, saying: « Locals are absolutely fuming about this and understandably so.
It’s a disgrace how this site has been left and trying to get council officers to take enforcement action has been difficult. You wouldn’t want to live next to that and there are many residents who can clearly see that from their homes. »
She emphasised the need for housing development plans to move forward and for council officers to acknowledge the issue, adding: « What we really need is for plans to progress for housing there but in the meantime council officers should be more prepared to say: ‘People driving in and out of Newport have to drive past that mess and something needs to be done.’
The vast majority of residents in Shaftesbury are not dumping on that site and they don’t deserve this. I did a site clean up with Pride in Pill there and there was a range of items. Nappies, a broken up toilet, mattresses – all sorts. »
A city council spokesperson stated: « The council is investigating a large flytipping incident at the old Sainsbury’s site. The land is privately owned and as such we are working with the owner on getting the rubbish removed.
We would encourage anyone with information on who is responsible for the fly-tipping to contact us on 01633 656 656 or log a report through our website at https://www.newport.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/fly-tipping-and-litter.
The council regularly monitors this area for flytipping and has previously issued fines for people who have been caught dumping their waste illegally here. We would welcome proposals to see this space redeveloped in the future. »
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