Media centre

Friday 24 Feb 2006

NORTH LONDON RAILWAY CLEAN-UP IS A LOAD OF RUBBISH

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

| Southern

A child’s bike, a television, two fridges, and a 30-year-old credit card – no, not the latest items to be sold on eBay, but just some of the diverse objects uncovered around White Hart Lane station following extensive work by Network Rail to clear the area of fly-tipped rubbish. Some 100 tonnes of rubbish have been removed from the track-side at Pretoria Road, Tottenham over the last few weeks. The clearance work has seen Network Rail’s maintenance teams working tirelessly to remove the items by hand, uncovering a wide range of objects along the way including furniture, electrical equipment, children’s toys and even a credit card dating back to 1976! Network Rail has now teamed up with Haringey Council to help keep the line-side environment clear and fight against fly-tipping by clamping down on those responsible. Network Rail’s Territory Maintenance Director, David Wilks, said: “This work has made a huge improvement to the local area and I hope it will make a real difference for local people and rail passengers alike. As well as being an eyesore, fly-tipping can have serious safety implications for the railway so we are delighted to join forces with council to help keep this area clean. I hope local residents will help us catch those responsible and make fly-tipping a thing of the past. ” Haringey Council’s Executive Member for Crime and Community Safety, Cllr Nilgun Canver, said: “Our residents will be very happy now this area has been cleaned up. Fly-tipping is a huge problem and it creates eyesores wherever it takes place. Land next to the railway is especially vulnerable as fly-tippers can think that no-one cares about that area - well this action from Network Rail sends out a signal that people do care and tippers had better beware.” In an effort to further prevent fly-tipping in the area, Network Rail is set to install taller, more secure fencing along the line-side in the coming weeks. Leaflets will also be sent to local residents encouraging them to help tackle the fly-tipping problem and report those responsible. Fly tipping can be reported confidentially to the British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40.  Network Rail and Haringey Council’s message to local residents is clear: report it, don’t ignore it.