Is this the ugliest building in Britain? Filthy, fly-tipped and abandoned snooker hall has become a hotel for vermin but local council claim they can do NOTHING
Local residents say they are losing the battle of keeping their streets clean due to fly-tippers dumping mounds of rubbish in front of an abandoned snooker hall.A group of litter-pickers regularly scour the neighbouring streets of Blackburn, Lancashire, to clear-up discarded rubbish.But, they say that fly-tippers illegally dumping mountains of rubbish at the front of the former John's Snooker and Pool Bar in Clayton Street, Blackburn, is making their street an 'eyesore'.Daine Chadwick, 33, who organises the team of locals to go out litter picking, said: 'It is a real eyesore.'It seems to have got worse during the last few weeks. This is the worst it has been for a long time.'There is more rubbish dumped every week and the more that is thrown over the fence, the more tipping it attracts.'Mattresses, beds, sofas have all been dumped recently.'Each week, we go out as a group and pick up litter to try to encourage people to do the same but seeing the rubbish pile up here has a negative impact on people living here.' Local residents say that fly-tippers illegally dumping mountains of rubbish at the front of the former John's Snooker and Pool Bar in Clayton Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, are making their street an 'eyesore' Mattresses, beds, sofas and broken furniture have all been hurled over the six-foot high fence - blighting the area A voluntary group of litter-pickers regularly scour the neighbouring streets of Blackburn to clear-up discarded rubbish due to increased instances of fly-tipping Pictured: former John's Snooker Bar in Blackburn, Lancashire before it became a hotspot for illegal fly-tippingLocal resident Dane Taylor, 34, said that the council have said that 'they can't do anything because it's private property'. However, he insisted that they 'could check the CCTV cameras across from the old snooker hall and find out who is fly-tipping.'Mr Taylor added: 'It's been a mess for as long I remember.'People just turn up in vans and throw their rubbish over the fence.'The wind then blows some of the rubbish up and down the street.'Daine Chadwick, who works for charity Roots Community, said: 'We would love to get in there and clean it up because it would make a massive difference to the area.'But it's private property and we don't know who owns the building.'We are doing our best but it's a ripple effect; the more rubbish that is dumped, the more it attracts.' Pictured: former John's Snooker Pool Bar before it was destroyed by a major fire in March 2020 Daine Chadwick, 33, (pictured), who organises the team of locals to go out litter picking, said the growing rubbish mounds are having a 'negative impact on people living here' Within the grounds of the derelict building is also an abandoned caravan, weight training bench and food waste Local resident Dane Taylor, 34 (pictured), said that the council insisted that 'they can't do anything because it's private property'Read More The organised crime gangs fuelling Britain's flytipping surge Mattresses, beds, sofas and broken furniture have all been hurled over the six-foot high fence - blighting the area. Within the grounds of the derelict building is also an abandoned caravan, weight training bench and food waste.In March 2020, a fire ripped through the building, causing the roof to collapse.Local resident Geoffrey Pickin, 67, described the site as 'a real mess'.He added: 'We do our best to keep the street as litter-free as possible but with the amount of rubbish being dumped it is hard.'I think they come at night and dump their rubbish.'The place has been empty for years and has always attracted rubbish but it's never been this bad.'I wish something would be done about it.' Martin Eden, Strategic Director of Environment and Communities at Blackburn with Darwen Council said: 'We are well aware of the fly tipping site on Clayton Street and have been working to resolve it as swiftly as possible, despite it being private land that does not come under the council’s jurisdiction.'We’ve been working with the landowner to undertake site visits to allow us to investigate the waste to try to identify the perpetrators. This has resulted in both a local business and landlord being interviewed under caution. We have also found evidence of some local residents dumping waste.'We have issued a Community Protection Warning letter to the landowner and have asked for them to remove the waste within a set timescale. Failure to act within this timescale will result in further enforcement action against the landowner.'Fly tipping is a criminal offence and those found guilty can face an unlimited fine, or six months imprisonment, or both.'
