Disgust as former Bilston pub site now a filthy ‘dumping ground’

Fly-tipping on an old Bilston pub car park has disgusted locals and council officials, who have branded the area a "dumping ground" for waste.

The Travellers Rest Pub, in Great Bridge Road, has seen tons of fridges, carpets, bags of rubbish and other waste just left on the site, which has lead to rats swarming the area.

The mayoress of Walsall, Christine Bott, who is ward councillor for Darlaston South where the pub comes under, said she went down to look after receiving complaints and "could not believe what she was seeing".

"It's absolutely horrendous and even inside the pub, we could see things being broken down and thrown inside," she said.

"There is fly-tipping all over the area and it's just become a massive dumping ground, with rats running all over the place.

The pub closed in 2018 and has become a dumping ground ever since

"I feel for the people who live across the road from this as they have to look at this every day.

Councillor Bott said the responsibility for the land had changed over time, as Marstons Brewery had sold the pub to a company based in Birmingham called MGT after its closure in 2018.

However, she says the lease was sold to an anonymous developer from Walsall, and Public Protection was waiting to hear back from the developer regarding plans for the land.

Mayoress of Walsall Councillor Christine Bott is dwarfed by the huge amount of flytipping next to the former Travellers Rest pub in Bilston

Councillor Bott also said that while she could remove items left on the outskirts of the pub due to it being council land, she was powerless to get anything moved from the pub land.

"People are adding to this land all the time and it was only due to residents intervening that a man was stopped from dropping a fridge on the car park," she added.

"I just want people take responsibility for their rubbish and use the tips, rather than just dumping on the land here.

The waste is being added daily on the site of the derelict pub

"A lot of the rubbish is building waste, and I just want the landowners to take responsibility for their land, rather than just buying it and leaving it.

"I've seen a billboard left on there advertising a bathroom company, which has just been left there.

"It's not nice when you live near here and I urge people to take some responsibility and not dump unwanted rubbish her, and show some consideration."

Public Protection at Walsall Council have been contacted about the dumping, with the site currently owned by an anonymous developer from Walsall

A spokesman for Walsall Council said: “Community Protection has received a complaint regarding this site and is working to resolve.

"The team has been in contact with the new landowner and their representatives and are working to resolve”