Environment chief Councillor Adam Harrison, second from the right, welcomes the team [Camden Council/Vanessa Berberian]

COUNCIL chiefs have been told that the hiring of a new fly-tipping squad to sort out streets in the north-west of the borough is “admission at last” that its waste collection deal has failed to do the job.

Rubbish – and how clean Camden’s streets are – is once again set to be an election flashpoint ahead of May’s Town Hall elections.

Opposition parties have for months – if not years – been asking for a review of how the council’s waste collection operation is performing, and how piles of fly-tipped rubbish are dealt with.

These calls have been rebuffed and when Labour lost a by-election last year Camden Council leader Georgia Gould said that waste was not something that had come up during doorstep canvassing.

This week, however, extra manpower was brought in to deal with rubbish dumping.

Six new enforcement officers are being sent in to “known littering and fly-tipping hotspots” for faster clearance.

A new night-time service will also operate. West Hampstead and Kilburn will be targeted first. Officers will be provided by Kingdom Services Group as part of a shared contract with four other councils.

Environment chief Labour councillor Adam Harrison said: “Fly tipping is an issue that our residents care deeply about. It has a huge impact on our streets and, ultimately, Camden taxpayers end up footing the bill to clean up after other people’s irresponsibility.”

He added: “We remain determined to take action against those responsible. With the new resources we are putting in place, we’ll clear litter and fly tips from our streets more quickly, but we will also collect more evidence to catch offenders.”

Conservative leader Councillor Oliver Cooper

The ruling Labour group voted down proposals for a review of its seven-year waste deal with contractors Veolia in November 2020.

Conservative group leader Councillor Oliver Cooper said: “Camden has finally woken up to its broken bins contract not working, but it is shameless to pretend this sticking plaster is a long-term solution.”

He added: “It’s no coincidence that after years of dithering, this has happened just before a local election to distract from the council’s record since cutting bin collections five years ago.”

The current waste deal expires in 2024 – with whoever wins the council elections due to decide what happens next.

The New Journal revealed last month how Labour councillors in West Hampstead had engineered a way of getting waste officers to come to the ward by using money raised in planning deals – but members in other parts of the borough said they had not been given the opportunity to do the same.

Awale Olad, the Labour councillor chairing Camden’s environment scrutiny, refused to take a deputation from the Lib Dems on Thursday evening about how planning cash is spent – declaring it was not within the cross-party panel’s remit.

Lib Dem group leader Councillor Luisa Porritt

Councillor Luisa Porritt, the leader of the Camden Liberal Democrats, said: “Camden Labour have at last admitted there’s a problem with fly tipping in the north-west of our borough, as the Liberal Democrats and so many frustrated residents have been pointing out for years.”

She added: “Introducing enforcement officers only three months before an election, after Labour have spent 12 years in power in Camden, is an act of desperation.”

The Lib Dems won last summer’s by-election in Fortune Green – and the ward is expected to be one of the more closely-fought battleground wards.

“For residents, it is too little too late,” said Cllr Porritt. “Meanwhile, in NW3 where Labour don’t stand a chance, our requests for additional resource to address waste collection issues in Belsize have been blocked.”

Waste which does not fit into bins can be taken to Regis Road Reuse and Recycling Centre and disposed of free of charge.

Residents can use the Love Clean Streets app to report street cleaning issues, or by calling Veolia.