Fresh concerns over fly-tipping after mountain of rubbish spotted at popular Dundee park

There are fresh concerns a popular city park is being used as a dumping ground after a mountain of rubbish was spotted strewn across the site.

The discarded waste, which included household items such as cabinets, rugs and even a sofa, had been left in Caird Park just yards away from the golf course.

Concerns had been raised last December over the practice of illegal dumping at the park, with regular users describing how the rubbish had led to the footpath leading to Claverhouse Road being blocked.

But it appears nothing has been done to address the issue, with pictures taken yesterday appearing to show the pile of rubbish had almost doubled in size since last year.

Strathmartine councillor, Kevin Keenan, slammed those who took the time to leave rubbish at the beauty spot, describing it as an “eyesore”.

He said: “I am appalled that people would dump rubbish somewhere that should be a place of beauty. There is not much light at this park and that gives people the chance to do it and not be seen, he said.

“And with the charge for the garden waste recycling coming in, it could get worse.”

Fly-tipping in Dundee amongst the worst in Scotland, figures reveal

The Labour councillor also urged environmental officers to play a role in discouraging people from leaving rubbish in public areas.

Mr Keenan added: “The environmental officers have a role to play to address this problem.

“They should look at the rubbish that has been left and see if there is anything there that could be traced back to those people that dumped it.”

The concerns over the rubbish left at Caird Park come in the same week the Tele reported that Dundee had one of the highest rates of fly-tipping across the whole of Scotland .

More than 3,000 incidents of illegal dumping have been reported to the local authority since 2017, making Dundee worse than areas including Angus and Perth and Kinross.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “We are now looking into this.

“So called fly tipping is an anti-social behaviour that blights communities and areas where it happens.

“Anyone who does it also acting illegally and the council has robust procedures to try to deter this selfish and dishonest activity including issuing a fixed penalty notice or reporting culprits to the Procurator Fiscal who has the power to fine up to £40,000.

“You can report fly tipping on the council’s website.”