Fed-up residents said they are living on a “Walking Dead-style” estate where mountains of dumped rubbish have led to an invasion of rats “the size of cats”.
Locals living in the Soho area of Birmingham have claimed that shameless fly-tippers and drug-addled “zombie” addicts have turned their neighbourhood into a no-go zone.
Boulton Road, which features a patch of grass, was “the perfect place” for dog walkers and children to play football. But now it has become an area filled with abandoned sofas, beds, whiskey bottles and even discarded toilets.
Homeowners claimed that the initial mess was created by a group of tenants who moved house around four years ago. Now the spot has become a regular dumping zone. They added that drug users also flock to the site to take substances and dump their own rubbish, with needles and gas canisters regularly found.
Birmingham City Council have refused to clean up the site because it’s privately owned and CCTV was only installed a month ago.
Business owner Pete Kumar, 50, who owns Riya’s Beautonic Lounge in Birmingham, claimed the waste had driven customers away from his beauty salon after they spotted giant rats lurking among the trash piles.
He said: “I’ve got a business right next door to it so this mess is literally on my doorstep. Because we’re in the beauty trade and there’s a lot of women who come here, I’m losing business because they don’t want to come here as they say they see rats the size of cats.”
He shared that within three days of clearing it, the rubbish returns and the CCTV surveillance is doing very little to deter those dumping rubbish.
Another business owner, 55-year-old Muktar Singh, branded the eyesore an “embarrassment” and demanded police take action on the drug users who come to the spot.
Mr Singh, who owns Signature Supplies on Haseley Road, also admitted to seeing the dumping of household rubbish, sofas, and needles. He said: “We’ve been here for many years, it’s been here for the last three or four years at least. There’s fridges, household rubbish and building materials dumped there. There’s sofas, needles and drugs.
“When you normally see mice and rats they run off, but not here. They stare you in the eyes.”
Mr Singh added another issue linked to the area is the presence of “too much drugs” and, as he spoke about the impact the substances have on the users he noted: “It’s like something from the Walking Dead.”
Fly-tipping currently carries fines of up to £50,000 or imprisonment. Councils can also serve a legal notice instructing people to clear rubbish on privately owned land.
Local Labour Councillor Majid Mahmood, from Birmingham City Council, has acknowledged the neighbourhood’s concerns and assured Soho residents that action is being taken.
He stated: “We are aware of the issue and have previously cleared the privately owned land to remove the antisocial activities going on at this location. We have been taking steps to deal with the issue and have gone some way to tackle the landowners to be responsible for their land.
“The Waste Enforcement Unit have been monitoring the area and have engaged with previous and current land-owners. Following initial contact, the current land-owners are in conversation with the waste enforcement unit and are working to arrange for clearance themselves and closer management of the site.
“The land is under surveillance and there are multiple investigations into illegal waste deposits that have taken place at the site. Where we have sufficient evidence Birmingham City Council will not hesitate to prosecute fly-tippers.
“We will continue to monitor and action any antisocial behaviour at the site, however the steps currently being taken we expect a full resolution to be completed in the very near future.”
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
