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A lay-by littered with bottles of urine, tyres and plastic bags has been branded an “absolute embarrassment of filth”.
Shocking footage shows the hedgerows along the entire 300m stretch at Ropersole, off the A2 near Barham, are covered in rubbish.
The shocking amount of litter at Ropersole lay-by off the A2. Credit: Mike Sole
Cllr Mike Sole recorded a video on this week as he walked along the lay-by, which he describes as the “most disgusting” he’s ever seen.
The 80-second clip also highlights how the bins at the site have been left broken and are now surrounded by litter.
Anyone living at nearby Ropersole Park or visiting the Kent Motorcycles cafe is forced to drive past the ever-growing mounds of mess.
“For years this lay-by has been abused by lorry drivers and used as a tip,” said Cllr Sole.
“Bottles of urine fill the hedgerows, as well as all other types of litter imaginable.
“It’s absolutely shocking. You could fill 10 skips with what’s down there.”
The Lib Dem, who represents Nailbourne, has accused the city council of failing to act.
“I know they’ve been trying to find landowners to try to get some fencing put up - but it’s just not good enough,” he said.
“Nothing is happening and meanwhile more and more rubbish is dumped here.
“The few bins that are in place are completely inadequate - they’re broken and overflowing. The city council has failed to replace them.
“It’s just an absolute embarrassment that after years and years of trying, nothing gets any better.”
Cllr Sole is urging the city council to put in skips and clear the rubbish. He is also calling for 8ft fencing to be put up to stop the issue recurring and for the bins to be replaced and regularly emptied.
He added: “We cannot expect people to put up with this filth, this mess, this disgusting litter - bottles of urine and everything else - in the countryside.”
City council spokesman Rob Davies said the authority is aware of the concerns raised about the lay-by.
“Matters are complicated due to some land ownership issues, which we are looking into and trying to resolve,” he said.
“But we will be installing new litter bins as soon as we can which we hope will start to improve the situation.”