Working with residents, local businesses and the Council the Green Party have got gates for one of the most notorious fly tipping hotspots in Newtown.

Gates were put on the Cumberland Rd alley following on from work by local resident and Green Party campaigner Rob White. Public meetings were organised, businesses were talked to and different sections of the Council were involved. The alley was also cleared on a number of occasions by residents including Rob and Newtown GLOBE.

Park Ward campaigner Rob White who came within 20 votes of becoming Reading's first Green councillor at the last local elections said: "this is a real success for the Green Party and all of the people involved. Residents started raising this issue with me a number of years ago and after a bit of digging it became apparent that this alley had been a problem for a long time but local councillors had done nothing."

" I was even informed that the police used this alley as an example of an unsolvable problem as part of their community policing training with visits down there."

"We made some initial headway with the fly tipping, getting signs up and getting it cleared but the real turning point in the campaign was getting the Council's Safer Reading team involved who identified other antisocial behaviour that was happening in the area and coordinated the gating of the alley."

"Despite this success, I'm definitely not complacent about fly tipping in Newtown which is still a problem and I will continue to work with residents and businesses to clean up other hotspots. Something that would really help get to the root of the problem is getting the Council to reinstate a free bulky waste collection or having a community skip scheme like in Wokingham."

ENDS

Notes for the Editor

1. For more information please contact Rob White on 07985 923938 or 0118 950 4062.
2. Green Park Ward candidate Rob White polled 994, and came within 20 votes of becoming Reading's first Green councillor at the last local elections in Reading. At the last general election he stood in Reading East and increased the Green vote by over 50% polling 1548.

Printed and promoted by Robert White, 22 Cumberland Rd, Reading, RG1 3LB. Both on behalf of Reading Green Party.