Dispute over clearing up waste dump

Durham County Council and Sedgefield Borough Council have clashed over the clearing of garden waste and litter dumped near Sedgefield village.

Residents have been complaining for years about travellers camping in Beacon Lane, and campaigned for the road to be closed to traffic.

But the county council has resisted calls for a lockable barrier, with leader and local councillor Ken Manton being strongly criticised for refusing to back the campaign.

Villagers say the mess left behind after the latest visit is worse than ever and have called a public meeting to discuss the problem.

Councillor Manton said it was the borough council's responsibility to clear away garden rubbish that had been dumped by unscrupulous gardening traders.

But he said because the borough authority did not move quickly enough, so the county council has done the job and will be sending the local council the bill. Much of the waste will be recycled.

Coun Manton also laid some of the blame with villagers for using the services of door-to-door traders offering to cut lawns and hedges, without asking how they intended to dispose of the waste.

Sedgefield Borough Council leader Councillor Bob Fleming said the local authority had helped to remove the illegally dumped refuse.

But he said: "It was reasonable for the county council to foresee what would happen at Beacon Lane, and more action should have been taken to stop the anti-social behaviour and reduce its consequences.

"Because of this, it may be considered that the county council have knowingly permitted waste to be deposited on land in their occupation."

He called on Coun Manton to take action to resolve the problems of anti-social behaviour in Beacon Lane.

The public meeting on the issue will be held on Thursday, in Sedgefield Parish Hall, at 7pm.

Coun Manton said the county council had the registration number of a vehicle seen dumping waste in the lane and would be seeking a prosecution.