Community groups in the South West Wales area who are victim of illegal flytipping,are to receive help towards the cost of clear-up thanks to a new fund made available by the Welsh Assembly Government. Grants totalling £20,000 have been allocated to pilot the Fly-tipping Clearance Assistance Fund which aims to help owners of private land which provides a benefit to the local community, such as local sports clubs or volunteer groups, restore their land fit for use by the public following fly-tipping attacks. The scheme will also seek to prevent future incidents by requiring applicants to take the opportunity to install preventative measures such as barriers and signage.

The initial pilot scheme will run until March 2007 across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot and will be run by Keep Wales Tidy. It will then be evaluated to see if it can be rolled out across Wales. The scheme comes as part of a range of new measures by the Welsh Assembly Government to crack down on fly-tipping. Carwyn Jones, Environment Minister said: “Landowners whose land provides a benefit to the local community often cannot afford to clear-up damage caused by fly-tipping. “This fund will ensure communities do not lose use of these valuable spaces as a result of illegal tipping.”