A business owner in Croydon has accused Croydon Council of “enabling” fly-tipping which “puts customers off”.

Shanil Shah, who runs family-owned Tillfield Ltd on Peall Road, says the mounting piles of trash are a a "serious threat" to his business' reputation.

The wholesaler opened in 2006 and says he has faced a surge in fly-tipping since 2023, particularly at the rear of the property.

Owner and manager Shanil told YourLocalGuardian: “We had a period where the road was completely fine.

“And then we had issues with our neighbouring property where they had overflowing bins.

“The council added bins and that has since been fixed.

“But at the rear of our property, we’ve been seeing more and more rubbish being dumped.”

(Image: Shanil Shah)

Shanil said that over the last year, the issue has got worse.

He added: “I’ve been using the Clean Streets App that Croydon Council recommends us to use.”

Shanil thought this reporting would be a one-off, but things starting to become more and more frequent to the point that he had submitted 40 reports.

He explained: “Some of the reports were days apart so it was a reoccurring thing.

“The council is aware of it and always send people to clear the rubbish.

“But while they’re clearing the rubbish, they’re not doing anything to stop it from happening in the future.

“So, the council are acting but not taking action to prevent it from happening.

“If anything, it’s enabling the situation to happen again.”

Shanil explained that the neighbouring property, The Trinity Baptist Church, also experience this issue as the rubbish goes from the rear of Tillfield to the front of the church.

He said: “It smells really awful, and it looks disgusting.

“We’re trying to bring customers into our premises to conduct business and then they turn up and see all this rubbish dumped everywhere.

“It puts customers off and it’s a really bad impression and it’s nothing of our own doing.”

If waste lands on private property, the responsibility of clearing it up lands on the individual who owns the land.

Shanil explained that the rubbish is dumped on council property, so the council is responsible for clearing it up, but the wind blows it into their private property and, as a result is forcing him "to pay cleaners to come and pick up this mess" that wasn't caused by him.

CCTV footage from Tillfield Ltd shows two people fly-tipping behind the property.

 

The council placed a warning sign in the area that people had been dumping their rubbish, but Shanil says that within a week, the sign has graffiti over and nothing else has happened since.

(Image: Shanil Shil)

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “Fly-tipping is a London-wide issue and in Croydon we are working hard to tackle the problem. We are in the process of reviewing our enforcement policy in line with current legislation to enable us to take more action against the perpetrators.

“If we find evidence of the people responsible when we clear away dumped waste, we will prosecute them and seek the highest penalties against offenders.

“If you see any dumped waste in the borough, please report it to us on the Love Clean Streets app.”

In the UK, fly-tipping is a criminal offence that can lead to severe environmental damages and poses risk to public health and safety.

People caught fly-tipping can face fines up to £50,000 or up to five years in prison.