ENFORCEMENT action has been promised by Waverley to crack down on the mounting problem of fly-tipping at its recycling banks in Haslemere’s Wey Hill Fairground car park.

Emergency funding will pay for a permanent CCTV camera to identify and prosecute offenders and also act as a deterrent.

Illegal dumping at the site has become a major problem following Surrey County Council’s decision last September to axe the weekly dustcarts it provided for non-recyclable waste in order to save £60,000 a year.

Haslemere Town Council fought the closure, which left residents with a round trip of 11 miles to Witley to dispose of any rubbish that can’t be recycled – arguing it would not save money because more costs would be incurred dealing with the increase in fly-tipping that closing the service was bound to create.

Responding to the latest move by Waverley, a spokesman said: “Haslemere Town Council has previously fought all attempts by Surrey County Council to remove the Saturday dustcart service from the Wey Hill car park, a service that was so well used by local residents.

“The town council now understands Waverley Borough Council is considering spending £7,500 on CCTV to monitor the fly-tipping which has occurred at the site since the service was withdrawn, as the town council had predicted.

“Clearly the cost of fly-tipping is far greater than the installation of CCTV as it includes removal of the rubbish and officer hours reviewing CCTV and preparing cases for prosecution of offenders – money residents who objected to the dustcart removal would much rather see being used to continue the service.

“Haslemere Town Council fears it is very likely, with the recent introduction of charging for disposal of some items at Surrey household recycling sites, that the issue of fly-tipping in Haslemere will be further exacerbated.”

Outrage was sparked across Surrey by the decision to save £1.8m by reducing opening times and introducing new charges at its waste recycling centres from the start of this month.

Widespread protests warning it would increase fly-tipping were taken up by Lib Dem county leader Hazel Watson, who said: “Surrey residents wanted to retain the service as it was but this was ignored by the Tories’ slanted consultation last year.

“Instead we have a recipe for increased fly-tipping, while at the same time the county council spends millions on buying property hundreds of miles away from Surrey and wasting residents’ cash on glossy magazines like Surrey Matters. These new charges and cuts will hurt our beautiful countryside and are just another let down from the Tories here in Surrey.

“We are calling upon the county council to drop these charges and reverse these totally short-sighted cuts that make it harder for our residents to do the right thing when it comes to waste. Liberal Democrat councillors will push for these changes at every opportunity and continue to monitor the dreadful impact that fly tipping has across our county.”

Concerns about the rise in illegal dumping were also voiced by borough councillors at Tuesday’s meeting. Waverley’s community services portfolio holder, Kevin Deanus, successfully proposed the borough council should use emergency funding to buy a second CCTV camera that could be used elsewhere.

Members agreed unanimously to £15,000 funding.

Waverley leader Julia Potts said: “I think it is a great shame fly-tipping is on the increase and it does appear to be starting to cost us a lot of money. Obviously if we’re going to look at prosecuting and taking action against offenders, we need to ensure that we have robust evidence and CCTV will be one of those ways.”