COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE-TERENURE AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

MOTION NO. 6

MOTION: Councillor J. Lahart

"That this Committee agrees that the Traveller Accommodation at Stocking Avenue is not maintained to an acceptable standard; agrees that there is consistent illegal 'over-wall' dumping (among other issues) and requests the Chief Executive to take every available measure to ensure that the environment at this location is improved substantially; that weekly checks and inspections are undertaken and that the residents are communicated with a view to informing them that the current state of the environment is utterly unacceptable."

REPORT:

The Residential Caravan Park at Stocking Hill consists of 10 bays for the accommodation of members of the Travelling community. The site has a caretaker who is on site a couple of times a week and is visited on a regular basis by staff from the Traveller Accommodation Unit. The Council is responsible for the maintenance of the day units and the communal areas of the site. Any requests for maintenance works are processed by the Traveller Accommodation Unit and carried out.

The Traveller Accommodation Unit also monitors illegal dumping on or around Traveller specific developments. The Stocking Hill Residential Caravan Park is monitored by CCTV cameras and any evidence of illegal dumping is reported to the Litter Warden. The caretaker on site submits regular reports to the Traveller Accommodation Unit also.  

When illegal dumping has occurred and there is sufficient proof that it is a tenant who has carried this out, they are called in for an interview. They are reminded that under the terms of their Tenancy agreement they must keep the area around their home free from rubbish. A verbal warning is issued initially and if the problem persists a series of warning letters will issue culminating in the service of a Notice to Quit.

In the last two years all residents at Stocking Hill have been written to in relation to the illegal dumping of waste. Further letters have been issued to individual tenants where it is suspected that they have been involved in dumping. Interviews have been held with these Tenants and at these meetings where sufficient evidence was available 3 litter fines were issued by the Council’s Litter Warden.

The Traveller Accommodation Unit has also worked with Public Realm to assist them with the request for information pursuant to Section II 5 (5) of the South Dublin Household Waste Bye-laws 2012. This obliges families to submit evidence of disposal of household waste and the waste collection service they have engaged. Thirteen letters were issued to residents at Stocking Hill who did not appear to have a waste collection service and interviews were held with these tenants also.

Further to the establishment of the Management and Maintenance sub committee of the Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, two pilot resident associations have been formed. It is envisaged that the formation of these committees will promote a sense of ownership among residents of sites and that the issue of legal dumping can be included on the Agenda and also targeted in this way. It is hoped that the pilot programmes can prove successful and be rolled out to sites like Stocking Hill.

The issue of dumping at the Stocking Hill site was discussed at the most recent Maintenance and Management sub committee meeting of the Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee and it was agreed that the Council would continue to work intensively with the residents to prevent dumping.

The area adjacent to the site will be cleaned up in the near future.