Fly Tipping in Yorkshire

>> Fly Tipping - Is it still a blot on our landscape?
By Paul Bolton

Fly-tipping - is it still a blot on our landscape?

In this day and age, we are all told to cut our carbon footprints and not to waste energy, our industry is told to cut its emissions and the government looks at new, environmentally friendly ways of powering the nation. All these measures are essentially there to help slow down the threat of global warming.

But an old problem still remains, and it’s getting worse. Due to lazy or even criminal actions, serious and fly tipping still blights our countryside, towns and cities – and the situation is five times worse than it was in the 1960’s.

According to Flycapture, a fly tipping database set up by DEFRA, The Environment Agency and The Local Government Agency, Yorkshire and the Humberside accounted for 163,480 of the 1.3 million fly tipping incidents in the UK in 2006-2007(discounting Liverpool County Council’s 1.3 million incidents).

Although these figures were down 25% in the region from last year, fly tipping was still expected to cost the region over £6.5 million and Yorkshire and the Humberside still accounts for the most recorded incidents of fly tipping behind the North West and London.

Fly tipping occurs generally because people want to avoid paying a disposal fee called the landfill tax. This charge generally comes into force when non household waste is removed or even having to pay to dispose of these types of waste in the local tip.

However, there is a more sinister element involved with fly tipping, as Ian Cowie, the Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Team Leader for Yorkshire explains:

“We deal with the more serious ‘big, bad and nasty’ of organised crime etc, rather than a guy tipping a mattress onto wasteland as a one off. These incidents are within the local council’s remits, and the Flycapture database was set up to allow us to collate national data” he said.

The problem of fly tipping has been met with a tough response from the authorities, which has led to 194 of 195 successful prosecutions by Yorkshire and Humberside councils. The Flycapture database has been key to this, allowing local authorities to record incidents and helping them to improve intelligence on fly-tipping and focus resources on fly-tip hot spots.

Other measures like www.fixmystreet.com, which was set up by the Ministry of Justice, allow the public to report instances of fly tipping and other local problems by locating the instances on an interactive map. Education for small businesses is also on the increase by the Environment Agency.

But for the more sinister elements, a tougher approach is needed, as Ian Cowie explains:

“My team deals more with people who think they can make a bob or two out of buying a skip, getting paid for filling it up with people’s waste, and then dumping it in the countryside. Last year we prosecuted 53 people in various incidents of serious organised tipping”.

Local initiatives are also in force, for example, Sheffield City Council, whose area has the worst statistics for fly tipping in Yorkshire (108,000+ incidents), has set up sting operations in co operation with South Yorkshire Police to catch un-licensed waste collectors who account for a high percentage of fly tipping incidents.

Despite fly tipping still being a major issue in the country and our region, Ian Cowie believes that’s there’s more to it than meets the eye, and is hopeful for the future in Yorkshire, especially with the recent impressive drop in incidents in the region.

“I believe fly tipping and serious tipping are at the levels they are because of the economic background of the South, Western Yorkshire areas and the sheer weight of the population there.

“But it’s clear to see we’re improving the situation, you can see for yourself how much we’ve cleaned up some of the rivers for example. If we continue hitting our targets, we’ll continue to make our region a nicer place to live and work.”

>>Menstoners punished for helping the environment?
>> Fly Tipping In Yorkshire

By Paul Bolton
Image: iwouldntstay

Menstoners punished for helping the environment?

Residents of a West Yorkshire village denied from doing the right thing when it comes to the environment are continuing to effectively break the law to reduce their carbon footprint.

The Ellar Ghyll tip, which is situated on the outskirts of Menston in Bradford, but lies just inside the Leeds metropolitan district border, has been at the centre of a long running feud over waste disposal.

Leeds City Council, who runs the site, has been turning away non-Leeds residents since 2006, despite the tip being on the majority of Menston residents’ doorsteps and the site having being originally set up in the 1970’s specifically for residents of the village and neighbouring Burley-in-Wharfedale.

Now, if Bradford residents are caught using the site, rules dictate that is it classed as fly-tipping and they could face a £50,000 fine or up to 12 months in prison.

Mr Ashley France, who lived in Menston for six years, but now lives in nearby Baildon, was threatened with arrest in February after attempting to use the site for a family member from the village:

“I went down there and they asked me where I lived. I said I was moving stuff for my father in law who lives in Menston. They told me it was a Leeds tip and the guy said I would basically be arrested if I was planning to tip there. I was obviously angry, but I turned around, I didn’t want to get into any trouble,” he said.

However, he still believes that the rules are worth breaking and knows plenty of people who are:

“But everybody in Menston still goes to Ellar Ghyll."

“Obviously they can’t man the gate 24 hours a day, but even if they do, I know people who will drive past and check. If there isn’t, they’ll use the site. If there is staff there, they’ll go to Rawdon or Guiseley, even though they’re in Leeds. There’s ways around it.”

The nearest legal alternative for residents is of Menston is the recycling centre in Ilkley, a 12 mile round trip compared to the short run to Ellar Ghyll or the neighbouring Guiseley and Rawdon sites.

Mr France believes this is ridiculous:

“My main point with this whole thing is that it’s hypocritical of Leeds City Council. It’s hardly environmentally friendly having to go further to dump your rubbish, and it leaves much more of a carbon footprint. Plus it’s just inconvenient.”

Residents in neighbouring Otley, in Leeds, have been given permits by their council to try and combat Menston residents providing false details to staff to gain access to the tip.

Campaigns from various local councillors and residents to change Leeds City Council’s stance have so far yielded few results and, after two and half years of conflict, there are still no plans to allow Menston residents to officially use the tip.

>> Fly-tipping - is it still a blot on our landscape?

By Paul Bolton
Image: richardpluck

War in Europe?

The government has today dismissed calls for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, despite 88% of British locals unofficially polled in 10 constituencies wanting one. The bill, signed in December by Gordon Brown, was designed as a replacement to the EU constitution, which was dismissed by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

A row has broken out due to the fact that the government promised a referendum on the original European constitution, but has not promised one on this treaty. Government ministers argue that the bill amends existing treaties and is not needed.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who called for a debate, and groups such as the Conservatives and UKIP see it as virtually the same as the scrapped constitution, so should also cleary require a referendum. The only way a referendum could happen is if MP's vote in favour of holding one in a couple of days time.

More protests like the one pictured at the top have continued outside the Houses of Parliament, today for example, protesters scaled a crane in Parliament Square to get their message across.

Across the blogosphere, the ongoing European referendum debate has produced some interesting coverage. Wonko's world, a blog written by a man who sees himself as a "foreigner in my own country", comments on today's protest and on a government he clearly doesn't trust:

What kind of a sham of democracy do we live in when people with a legitimate protest feel that they need to break the law in order to get noticed?

A Very British Dude goes further, believing he is speaking for everyone when he says:

Listen, politicos: We, the peoples of Europe, do not want the constitution or its bastard offspring, and have demonstrated this at every turn.

The Devil's Kitchen, who quoted the British Dude in his post on the EU row agrees, and, in very colourful language, goes on to say that those who don't see a need for a referendum, are, well.. let's just say wrong:

As I have pointed out, innumerable times, those who claim that we should not have a referendum because we live in a representative democracy are total c***s.

It is because we live in a representative democracy that we should have a referendum. Because, when 98% of those MPs represented themselves to the voters, they promised a referendum.

An arguement for the EU treaty are few and far between, in fact, Daniel Hannan of The Telegraph asks in his blog for:

Some decent, well-sourced, specific arguments in favour of EU membership. No airy generalizations, please. No fibs about how the EU is “coming our way”. What I want is a simple case for why we should be part of the EU that actually exists. Over to you.

There was plenty of responses to Hannan's article who disagreed with, but the main point on the other side appeared to be that the referendum is misunderstood. Ed Clarke, argues that:

Unless I have misunderstood this process entirely, it is merely a formalisation of the process already in existence. There are plenty of points along the line at which countries can say "no" to any changes.

However, he agrees with a referendum, but more on the issue that:

I think we should have a referendum based on voters being informed of the actual content of the treaty. Far too much of the debate (on both sides of the argument) has been based on half-truths and inaccuracies. Why doesn't the EU or the UK government put a consolidated version of the treaties up on its website so that we can all have a proper read of it?

Personally, I believe that is it the government's democractic responsobility to hold a referendum. The reason they aren't is clear: they are scared that they will be defeated; but surely this is all part of the democractic process. Maybe if the government did a better job of telling people exactly what was going on, they'd come round to the idea. But if after proper education the public really didn't want it, the people have spoken and their decision should be valid.

Hopefully if a referendum is voted for by ministers, the contents of the treaty will be presented to the public in a simple way.

Before I leave it there, here's a campaign video for the "I Want A Referendum" group, who are spearheading the campaign for a referendum.

Preston News Map

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Conservative Cock Up?

The Conservatives have put their foot in it today, after a briefing note for a David Cameron speech was criticised. In the note, one of the points was criticising trips for sixth formers to Auschwitz as "a gimmick". The party's main point appears to have been the fact that Labour promised free trips to the former concentration camp, yet failed to deliver, making schools fork out £100 for each trip per pupil. It is among a list of "gimmicks" the Conservatives accused Gordon Brown of, and on the surface seems to be simple party politics.

However, due to the touchy subject matter, a great deal of offence is likely to be caused to the Jewish community. Many blogs are seeing this as a terrible misjudgement.

Guido Faulkes Blog thinks that:

Whatever the substance of the matter, somebody is going to get a bollocking for the original press release...

However, some see it as a another move to slice down the Conservatives by Labour. "The Red Box"'s Sam Coates updated his blog throughout the day, gauging the comebacks from both Labour and Conservative sides. At the end of the day, he saw it as:

The charge of Tory flipancy and judgement error certainly still stands, but perhaps Labour - suddenly emboldened by recent polls - charged in too hard and have done enough politicking with the issue to muddy the waters and lessen the impact.

To back this up, Adam Boulton's Sky News blog makes a valid point about the release:

But he did not single out the notorious death camp. Reference to it came in the Conservative Campaign Headquarters blurb that accompanied the speech.

There is no doubting that calling trips to Auschwitz a "gimmick" was a mistake and is likely to offend a great many people. A few people in my History A level class went there and for them, it was a very valuable experience and there is no denying what went on there was a tragedy and should never happen again. But maybe this is all being blown a bit out of proportion?

The Conservative's point seemed to have been more about Brown failing to deliver, not the fact that the trip is a waste of time.

Slideshow

We were asked to produce a short slideshow about walking from Avenham Park to UCLan's Foster Building, to publish on our blog. This is to demonstrate we'd got the grasp of Flickr and Windows Movie maker, both vital in publishing multimedia items on your blog. Here is my effort, using pictures from Flickr and a rather nice instrumental from viking metal band Tyr.

Mosquito Annoyance

The "mosquito box", a £550 unit that emits a sound only people under 25 can hear has come under immense criticism from human rights and children's campaigners. The boxes have been installed by councils across the UK to disperse youths to combat anti social behaviour.

Here in Preston, the council initially brought in the boxes in 2006, but in May last year, a council meeting ended in confusion, reported the LEP:

At the end of the debate, Jim Carr, the council's chief executive, told baffled councillors: "The council now does not have a position statement on Mosquito devices."

Labour councillors who described the boxes as "like something out of Doctor Who" did not get their way and as far as I know, boxes are still installed around Preston, not that i've noticed.

It's all well and good for councils to do something about a real problem such as this, but they seem to be taking it a step too far. The boxes can't choose who they emit a sound to and it affects EVERYONE under the age of 25, making standing in a place which is perfectly legal unbearable.

I think it is right that new criticism is being brought against the boxes and I see the units as a sloppy attempt to combat anti social behaviour. Maybe filling boxes with real mosquitos, dispersing them at groups of kids and only giving the repellant to those not causing trouble would work. Or not.

Attacks on MP's

Over the past week, I've noticed that the House of Commons has come under scrutiny from a number of sources; from journalists and critics, to the very MPs that sit in it.

On Monday, ePolitix.com reported a Liberal Democrat whip's outburst on fellow MPs:

You look around the House of Commons and see some Members who have been there for 15, 20, 25 years and who are frankly doing nothing, particularly the ones with large majorities. It is not part of my plan to be hanging around the chamber waiting for death.

Paul Keetch's comments to House Magazine probably sum up the feelings of many politically-disillusioned members of the public. Those who feel that their possibly rather old and past it MP's have little effect on their community, will only see comments such as these as reinforcing their dim view of British politics.

Other attacks on the Commons have come over costs to the British public. BBC News online reported the case of a Labour MP urging Whitehall's sleaze watchdog to hold an independent inquiry into MPs expenses. The row erupted over claims that MP's were putting down trivial items such as:

plasma screen televisions, fish tanks and iPods.

The cost of MPs to the taxpayer also came under attack after a Labour MP called for all MPs to receive free Blackberry devices, reports the BBC. A row was also caused over the cost of a new parliamentary visitors centre, expected to cost £12.5 million to the tax payer.

But it's not just in this country; MLA's in Northern Ireland's assembly are being rewarded with a pay rise, something Sinn Fein's Cheif Whip Caral Ni Chuilin believes is:

Out of line with both the low rate of inflation and the pay settlements other workers are being asked to accept.

It seems that MPs as a whole have been having a tough time in the eye of the public recently. Personally, I think some of these are harsh criticisms and non-stories - but as the BBC's Nick Robinson explains in his blog;

Only the House of Commons can break that circle - by reforming themselves.

Only reform can change our age old system and bring the majority of the public back on the side of their MPs - and not continue to see them as money grabbing, useless old gits.

For starters..

I thought a good way to kick off this politics-based blog would be to look at the U.S elections. Now obviously, these events have a massive effect on the world, as America's choice of president could determine the global economic forecast or whether or not the human race will be wiped out in a nuclear holocaust.

But questions have been raised recently in Britain about how much coverage is being given in the media to the race, in comparison to our own politics. For example, an article I read on the Badger Herald's website (The University of Wisconin-Madison's student newspaper), portrayed just how little attention we pay to our own politics.

One of the student writers, Laura Brennan, on a trip to London, was stunned at how much British students knew about the U.S race:

I asked another British student about the American elections. “I really like Obama,” he told me. Really? He continued, “I just wish he would elaborate more on his policies and actually tell us what he wants to change. I think he’s got some real potential, but I think I’d go for Hilary instead.” I know Mr. Brown is part of the Labour Party, but I couldn’t even begin to elaborate on his policies.

And she was also suprised at how little we knew about our own politics:

When I commented on Tony Blair’s recent conversion to Catholicism — a big story in the United Kingdom, which is predominantly Anglican — his eyes popped. “You know about that?” He laughed, sipping a rather large mug of lager. “My best friend didn’t even know! How would a bloody American know that? I’m impressed!”

Certain sections of the media, for example, Guardian Unlimited, have set up a whole series of blogs on the U.S presidential race. And this coverage, as the Britain and America blog explains, is being hyped to such an extent because sites such as BBC News online and Guardian Unlimited receive so much U.S traffic. The advantage for us is that we gain a detailed knowledge of the race, but is this a detriment to the reporting of our own, perhaps more relevant, politics?

There's no solid evidence that it is, but I think part of the reason why the race is being hyped so much is because, to put it simply, it sells. For the first time, there is a real prospect that we could have either a female or a black president. It's attractive and it's exciting, a lot of the time, a far cry from the often dull British political landscape. As long as the British media doesn't neglect it's own nation's politics (and it's already fighting past entertainment and sport), there should be little loss of empowerment for the British public.

An introduction...

Hello, and welcome to "Enter The Digital Newsroom", a corny name for this blog, which I've set up as part of the Digital Newsroom module on the second year of my BA Journalism course, at the University of Central Lancashire.

As part of the task, we've been split into groups and each member of the group has been asked to cover a different subject, mine being politics. If i'm honest, I've never been entirely on the ball with the subject, but I would say I have a decent enough grasp to be able to make stinging judgements. As well as said judgements, part of the task is to focus on what other blogs and news sites are analysing and how they are doing it.

I hope you find the blog at least mildly interesting and hopefully take something away from it. Don't forget you can leave a comment if you find anything outrageously good or bad.

Thanks,
Paul