Now excrement is fly-tipped in West Hampstead streets
People were told to stay away from their homes amid chemical check
Friday, 18th July — By Caitlin Maskell
A mountain of mess in Gascony Avenue
LEAKING “human excrement” is the latest mess to be dumped on street corners in West Hampstead as residents warned this week how smelly fly-tipping has become a permanent problem.
Dozens of residents were told they could not go back to their homes in Gascony Avenue earlier this month as the London Fire Brigade investigated a suspected spillage of chemicals.
After taping off the road and a two-hour investigation, the incident was recorded as a leak of an “unknown substance”.
“When I asked the firefighter what it was – they just grimaced,” said Lorna Rogers who lives in the street.
“They thought it was something nasty. It was insinuated it was something like human waste or excrement.”
Residents described a strong sewage smell on Friday evening after a large blue vat had been left on the corner of the street, which they say is a fly-tip hotspot – a claim that is not disputed by chief councillors.
Ms Rogers said: “It was the shape of a barrel but to me it reminded me of something industrial, very thick plastic. The contents had been tipped out.
“Veolia came down and hosed off the area but it all just went down the street. Later in the sun there was all this dried-up sludge which is still there. It was never properly cleaned.”
Dumped containers in West Hampstead
She added: “It’s quite serious to be told you can’t go home and then to be left wondering what it was – we were never told. It’s another example of people living on this street feeling like we don’t matter.”
Residents said mountains of mess on the corner, near the Kilburn High Road, has been a problem for at least three years.
Abdul Ali, who also lives in Gascony Avenue, said: “There’s always a problem. It doesn’t look nice and in the heat it smells a lot. If you were in a wheelchair you’d struggle to get past.”
Camden, in partnership with Brent and Westminster councils, has recently secured over £8million in funding from Transport for London for the “Better, Safer Kilburn” scheme, aimed at revamping streets along the borough borders.
More mess in Messina Avenue
A 40-year business owner, whose shop is on the corner of Gascony Avenue, said: “We never had this problem but now businesses have to pay for their rubbish – and they just ditch it wherever to evade the costs.
“This is the worst it’s been in ages and the council does nothing. It smells awfully.”
Ms Rogers, who has lived in her home for 11 years, added: “It’s bundles of boxes and crates, food debris and big buckets of five-litre hummus.”
She added: “There are flies everywhere. If you made the place a bit cleaner I think people would just respect it more.”
Messina Avenue, parallel to Gascony Avenue, overlooks Kilburn Grange Park. Residents there told the New Journal of similar issues with illegally dropped waste.
“It’s a literal dumping ground.” said Karen Doyle who lives a few doors down from the fly-tip area.
“When the bin workers come to collect it, it just comes back within a day. The smell is awful, and yesterday there was a mattress that looked sodden in wee.”
Colin Fraser, another resident, added: “We can’t live like this – the rubbish just gets worse and worse and the council aren’t doing enough to stop the people who just dump it.”
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters were called to reports of a possible spillage of chemicals on Gascony Avenue in Kilburn on Saturday July 5. They carried out a monitoring sweep of the area and found no elevated readings of chemical substances.
Labour councillor Adam Harrison, Camden’s environment chief, said: “Fly-tipping is one of the biggest blights impacting on residents. We have upped our action against this antisocial behaviour by introducing new increased patrols and deploying CCTV.
“We are prosecuting businesses that fail themselves and their communities by refusing to get proper waste contracts and dumping their stuff in unmarked black bags.
“This location is a fly-tipping hotspot which our team actively patrols. We’ve issued six fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping in this vicinity over the last month.”
He added: “If members of the public are able to identify any regular perpetrators here, please let us know so we can take action.”
A spokesperson for Veolia said: “We are working hard to support Camden Council and its residents to address fly-tipping.
“We received a number of reports from Gascony Avenue on July 5 and 6 and can confirm that the bins were checked and the area cleaned on Monday July 7. We are grateful to residents for reporting these issues, allowing us to respond quickly and help keep Camden safe and clean for everybody.”
