Brierley Hill eyesore mound of rubbish is going, going, gone

A seven-month operation to clear the waste which had been left to pile up in Moor Street, Brierley Hill, is almost complete, with only a smattering of litter still visible.

But it is a world away to this time last year when the rubbish towered almost 20ft high. Diggers have been clawing away at the mound at the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) site over the last few months, gradually reducing it in size.

The rubbish developed into a seven-year long saga as residents and councillors were left frustrated in their battle to have it shifted.

RDF company director Robert McNaughton was jailed for failing to remove it in 2013. The breakthrough came at the start of the year when the owners of the site agreed to pay around £750,000 to clear the waste.

Work to clear the rubble, which included wood, plastic, bricks, tyres and household waste and had been left for so long that it sprouted vegetation, began in January.

Brierley Hill councillor Rachel Harris, who led a long campaign to try and get the waste cleared, said: "We are really pleased.

"This shows if a community works together they can change things in their area.

"Everybody was deeply unhappy about that site but we have worked with the Environment Agency and the owners and have managed to get something done about it."

Steve Dunn, secretary of the Brierley Hill Tenants and Residents Association, said: "It has practically been cleared and all the residents are quite happy.

"It has been terrible. We have been fighting to have it cleared for almost 10 years. It's a great relief."

Councillor Harris said she was hopeful plans to build housing on the site could now be resurrected.

Developers were scared that they would have to pay for the clean up.