A huge pile of waste which provoked an angry response when it was dumped at a prominent site in Ipswich over the weekend is expected to be removed today.
The rubbish, which contains old mattresses, furniture, rugs and clothes, was left sprawling over a concrete carpark at the junction of Norwich Road and Bramford Road on Saturday.
Photos of the mess posted on social media were met with disgust, with concerns raised about the possible effect on health and the environment, as well as its unsightly appearance and the poor impression it gave of the town.
Imam Taha Muhamad of the Ipswich Kurdish Islamic Cultural Centre, which owns the site where the waste has been dumped, said some of it came from workmen renovating the building, while the rest had been fly-tipped by people not connected with the mosque.
“I know it doesn’t give a nice picture of Ipswich,” he said,
“I’ve told the workmen that I don’t want to see any of the mess left by (Monday) – everything will be cleared.”
Imam Taha said he would also insist the workmen clear the site more regularly for the remainder of the project. However he pointed out that many of the items, such as mattresses, had never been in the building and must have come from opportunist fly-tippers.
Carole Jones, who represents the area’s Westgate ward at Ipswich Borough Council, said fly-tipping was a big problem locally.
“People see there’s some rubbish and take the opportunity to flytip,” she added.
“Our priority is to get it cleared because it’s a real mess.”
Fellow Westgate councillor Julian Gibbs said he often received complaints about fly-tipping in the ward.
“Any form of flytipping is unacceptable and a blight on the area, whether it’s Norwich Road or other parts of the town,” he added.
“We will not tolerate it and we would encourage people to report it whenever they see it.”
Colin Kreidewolf, who also represents Westgate, said he was confident the environmental health team would ensure the rubbish was cleared.
A council spokesman said an investigation would be held to identify where it came from.
Much of the rubbish had been covered with tarpaulin by yesterday evening.
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