Fly-tippers urged to desist after Bogside NIE substation clean-up

Black rubbish bags and scrap were regularly being thrown over the perimeter fence adjacent to the Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) substation on Stanley’s Walk prior to a one-off clean-up that has been conducted by the power company following a request by local councillor Sharon Duddy.

Though the site is now pristine, Colr. Duddy said it was worrying that unwanted children’s toys were also being dumped beside the power infrastructure.

She said this had presented a danger to local children who may have been tempted to climb over the fence to retrieve items like skateboards and bicycles that had been abandoned there.

Sinn Féin’s environmental spokesperson on Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC) praised the NIE for taking action.

However, she said the company should not have had to deal with the illegal dumping in the first place.

“I was contacted by a number of residents in January to see if I could highlight the illegal dumping that was going on at a green space beside an electricity substation at the bottom of Stanley’s Walk. And help get the area cleaned up,” she said.

“When I went to the scene, I was shocked to see the amount of stuff that had been thrown over the fence. It included the likes of household rubbish, tyres and children toy,” continued Colr. Duddy.

The representative for The Moor District Electoral Area (DEA) said NIE had acted promptly when approached about the problem.

“I contacted N.I.E. and asked them if they could do a clean up of the greenspace and remove all the rubbish.

“They agreed that they would carry out a one off clean up and asked me as the local councillor to appeal through local media outlets for the dumping there to stop. I would like to thank them for their speedy response,” she said.

Those responsible for dumping toys over the substation fence were asked to show greater responsibility as their actions could have lead to children being injured trying to climb inside.

“It’s also very important to highlight the dangers of placing any of this stuff beside a substation.

“It could be set on fire or a child could be injured trying to climb in to retrieve any of these toys within yards of thousands of volts of electricity.

“I would appeal for this dumping to stop and urge anyone looking to have additional rubbish removed to contact the Council and see if it fits the criteria for the bulky lift scheme,” said the councillor for The Moor DEA.