NEW CHARGES and permits at Reading's dump have coincided with a spike in fly tipping offences, raising concerns about the future cleanliness of the town's streets.

Figures obtained by the Chronicle show that between July 1 and October 1 2016, 815 fly tipping offences were reported to Reading Borough Council – 137 more than the same period in 2015.

That amounts to a 20 per cent increase.

The rise comes after those in the West Berkshire parts of town were banned from using Smallmead Recycling Centre on July 1.

Since September, residents have had to pay to recycle some non-household waste and since October overly full dust bins have not been collected.

Such measures have prompted concerns that piles of rubbish will only continue to grow.

Rob White, Reading Borough Council's Green Party leader, said: “As a councillor for Park Ward we see a lot of fly tipping in our part of town. It makes an area look run down.

"It doesn't surprise me it is going up.

“Charging people to use the dump is a false economy. It saves money, but in the long run more people will fly tip.”

To further add to the town's rubbish woes, the number of neighbourhood officers employed by the council will be cut from eight to four at the end of the financial year.

As well as reporting pot holes, the officer's duties include riffling through piles of rubbish to identify offenders and notifying the council when new tips appear.

“Neighbourhood officers are the ones doing the preventative work,” continued Mr White.

“When their numbers are cut, there won't have time to do the work properly.”

An re£ spokesperson, who run the Smallmead site, said: "Fly-tipping rates can fluctuate widely in a short period of time, and it is extremely difficult to establish a direct link between the introduction of the recycling centre residents’ permits and fly-tipping incidents in the Reading Borough Council area. 

“Under similar conditions, the other re3 council partners have experienced decreases in fly-tipping in the same time period. The Bracknell recycling centre stopped taking waste from residents from other neighbouring local authorities at the same time that West Berkshire residents were prevented from using the Reading site.

“re3 found that some other Councils who introduced similar changes experienced a spike in fly tipping incidents, followed by a decrease. It stands by its decision to restrict access to the recycling centres to re3 area residents only as the savings being made outstrip fly-tipping removal costs, and were introduced to ensure that the waste service is run more cost-effectively and to help fund other frontline council services."

An RBC spokesperson said that employment opportunities for neighbourhood officers affected by the cuts were being explored.