INDUSTRIAL fly-tipping on a disused railway line has finally been cleared - more than three years after the problem was first raised with the landowner.
Waste tipped on the 80-yard stretch of land off Park Spring Road, between Grimethorpe and Little Houghton - a much-discussed hotspot - ‘could be seen from space’ at its worst, according to Darfield Coun Kevin Osborne.
And some of the tipping, mostly thought to be industrial waste such as wooden pallets and doors, tiles, insulation and rubble, has not been moved since late 2017.
But councillors and residents have been locked in a battle with Network Rail, which owns the sliver of land that was once the track bed but has been slow to take action.
The firm finally agreed to clear the site last week.
Coun Osborne said: “One thing that really gets me about this is it’s something that could’ve been so easily solved years ago.
“Network Rail clearly has no interest in that land.
“It’s isolated - out of sight, out of mind.”
Lockdown has exacerbated fly-tipping, with more than 1,000 more incidents last year than the year prior - from 3,893 to 5,254.
Chris Goodwin, infrastructure maintenance protection coordinator for Network Rail, said: “Our teams will be clearing the rubbish that has been dumped on the old track bed, which is Network Rail land.
“Further work will take place to prevent unauthorised access onto the land.”
Barnsley East MP Stephanie Peacock said: "I'm pleased that this site is finally being cleared up after years of debate over responsibility for the land.
"More needs to be done to discourage fly-tipping in the first place as this is not an isolated incident."
