Fife Council is continuing to clamp down on illegal fly tipping in an area that has been described as the “backside of Kirkcaldy”.
The council confirmed that a fixed penalty notice had been served on the person responsible for dumping some of the waste in the Heatherywood area, adjacent to the Redhouse Roundabout.
The Courier was contacted by cyclist Ron Nairn who regularly commutes on this section of the Kingdom Cycle Network. He described the level of fly tipping in the area as “unacceptable and disgraceful”.
“I am extremely dismayed to find that this area is being constantly targeted by these moronic types,” he said.
“I recently informed Fife Council of a number of scrap tyres that had been dumped in this same area and no sooner were they uplifted than they had been replaced with five times as much rubbish.”
Mr Nairn provided a number of photographs of material lying along a 200-metre stretch of the roadway, not to mention other rubbish littering the grass verges.
He said one pile of rubbish appears to have originated from a shop refurbishment.
He said: “The fact that the pile also includes the shop front sign may lead to quick identification of the culprits. I have not informed Fife Council yet of this latest round of dumping, as I wanted to highlight the problem first.
“Last year a local landowner was forced to take action and erect a gate along this roadway to try and stop illegal dumping on their land.
“I believe they may have been forced to foot the bill to have some asbestos sheeting removed that had been dumped on their access road. This area must surely now qualify as the most disgraceful and disgusting place in Fife.
“During the past two years I have hosted visiting cyclists at my home from the USA, Canada and Finland and have been thoroughly embarrassed to escort them along this part of the cycle network.
“This is the first sight visiting cyclists are given of Kirkcaldy when arriving from the north and the last as they make their way north out of Kirkcaldy.
“I believe firm action is now required to taken by Fife Council and Police Scotland and if this means restricting the access to those who work, live or are passing through this area, then so be it.
“This behaviour cannot continue to be tolerated any longer. To be polite, Heatherywood truly is the backside of Kirkcaldy.”
Elaine Devine, Fife Council service manager for enforcement and commercial operations, confirmed that Heatherywood is an area well-known to the council for illegal dumping.
She said: “In this case, officers have already been able to issue a fixed penalty notice to the person responsible for dumping some of the waste. We investigate all reports of illegal dumping and prosecute offenders whenever possible.
“More serious offences will be referred directly to the procurator fiscal, which can result in fines up to £40,000.“In Fife we spend £350,000 each year on enforcement alone a cost that wouldn’t be needed if people dealt with their waste properly.
“We urge people who witness illegal dumping to report it to us by calling 03451 55 00 22.
“Restricting access to public roads to prevent fly tipping is often not practical but we encourage landowners to secure their land against illegal dumping, which they are ultimately then responsible for removing at their own cost.”