Headingley prepares for student exodus

9.18.00am GMT Thu 28th Jun 2007

Cllr James Monaghan

This weekend (30th June/1st July) sees the annual student changeover when students move house or leave Leeds for the summer. Traditionally this often leads to large amounts of waste being dumped in the gardens and streets of Headingley and surrounding areas.

Local Councillor James Monaghan has explained how the council and other agencies are tackling this issue.

Councillor James Monaghan (Lib Dem, Headingley) said "We've taken a multi-agency approach this year. Over the last twelve months, my ward colleagues and I have worked with landlords by raising awareness of the problem of illegal dumping and awareness of the penalties they could face for leaving their properties in a mess.

"Both universities have also held market events where students can bring their unwanted goods to sell, anything left unsold at the end of the day was donated to charity.

"To complement these efforts we will have neighbourhood wardens, PCSOs, environmental health and enforcement officers in the streets who will be issuing fines to anyone found littering or dumping rubbish in the street as well as having a uniformed presence to speak to anyone seen to be irresponsible with their waste."

Councillor Monaghan added, "Unfortunately because of the large amount of rubbish thrown out the area becomes a magnet for bag slashers who in some cases are seeking to find papers which can be used to steal a person's identity. I would urge people to shred any important documents they are throwing away and if you see anyone rummaging through the rubbish bins please call the police."