Hartlepool Borough Council to install bollards to prevent vehicles from reaching West View fly-tipping blackspot

Hartlepool Borough Council officers were approached last summer to look for a solution to “constant fly-tipping issues and deliberate fires” on land between the railway line and the back of properties in West View Road.

Meetings have taken place, at the request of ward councillors, with local residents, representatives from Cleveland Fire Brigade and several council teams to come up with a solution on the issue.

Proposals went before the latest meeting of the local authority’s neighbourhood services committee to install secure heavy duty bollards on the narrow lane between 278 and 280 West View Road which provides access to the land.

This will allow pedestrian access to be maintained, with the site a popular dog walking spot, while the fixed bollards have the capacity to be removed if emergency access is required or if the council needs to enter.

Councillors on the committee unanimously backed the move and said they hoped the proposals will help prevent fly-tipping on the land, which they claimed has been an issue for a number of years.

Councillor Rachel Creevy, De Bruce ward representative, said: “I’m fully supportive of this, it has to happen, it’s a huge area and it’s very frustrating.”

The council received 11 responses from a consultation on the proposals, eight of which were in favour, with three opposing it, citing a loss of access to existing garages.

Officers noted additional on street parking was created in the area some years ago which should “compensate for any forced vehicle displacement”.