A blight on the streets of Pollokshields

As reported in The Extra, the area — named last year as the worst in Glasgow for flytipping — is the focus for a month of action throughout April, with Glasgow city council, police and community wardens joining forces.

The move coincided with a Scottish government announcement that as of this month, the fixed penalty notice would rise to £80 for littering and up to £200 for flytipping — influenced by the recent Towards a Litter-Free Scotland public consultation.

Environment secretary Richard Lochhead placed the onus on offenders, commenting: “It’s up to all of us to take responsibility and I’d encourage everyone in Scotland to take litter home, recycle it or find a bin.”

But for action group Clean Shields — a Twitter feed which documents reported incidents — a lack of enforcement is to blame for the plight of Pollokshields.

A reply from Clean Shields to the consultation has been published on the government website, and reads: “Pollokshields is blighted by this problem.

“There needs to be a chance of those who dump being caught. Enforcement needs to be strong enough to act as deterrent.”

This week, Clean Shields’ Lucy Gillie told The Extra: “The current strategy of warning of enforcement without the back-up of actual enforcement is ineffectual — and infuriating.

“On our Twitter feed there are still numerous documented incidents which are not investigated or fined.”