AN angry Skipton businessman has hit out against a council policy which says he must pay for rubbish to be removed if it is illegally dumped on his land.

And Terry Turner, a partner with Skipton Bed Centre, in Water Street, said he would not have had a problem in the first place with illegal fly-tipping if Craven District Council had not decided to introduce tipping charges to dispose of bulky household items.

Mr Turner is outraged after officers from Craven District Council's housing and environmental health department said he would face legal action if he did not take responsibility and pay for the removal of furniture dumped at the front of his warehouse.

He said: "I find it unfair that if someone dumps on my property, it is up to me to obtain a waste management licence, so I can put the rubbish on my vehicle, remove it to the tip and pay for its dis-posal."

He added in a letter to John Sykes, head of housing and environmental health at Craven District Council: "What has happened and you are well aware of this, is that you have introduced a back door tax, and people with spare land are expected to pick up your bills when the inevitable occurs and people dump elsewhere rather than pay the tax."

Mr Turner told the Herald the problem began in June when someone left a three-piece suite at the front of his premises.

He contacted the council to ask Mr Sykes the best way to resolve the problem and offered to move the suite free of charge.

However, Mr Turner said this offer was declined and he was told he would have to pay £15, half the amount normally charged.

He added in correspondence to the council: "As I pay you in excess of £11,000 per year in business rates and £100 per month for the use of the council refuse service to dispose of my old beds, suites etc, why should I incur, in your words 'unnecessary costs' to dispose of someone else's rubbish."

However, Rachel Mann, director of public services at Craven District Council told the Herald that Mr Turner was legally bound by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to remove items on his property.

She said: "The responsibility to prevent and deal with items dumped on an individual's property is the responsibility of the owner of the property and the council's responsibility is to make sure the law is upheld."

She added the council was concerned waste had been stored in this area for some time and had tried to resolve ongoing problems by removing waste free of charge and for half price in the past.

The council had also advised Mr Turner to erect signs outside his property to discourage any further dumping.

Miss Mann added: "It has been suggested that this problem has been caused by the council's policy to introduce bulky household items charges.

"However these charges were first introduced in April of this year, but the problems relating to Mr Turner's land are on record as being back as far as 1996. It would not seem therefore that the problem has been caused by the recent policy."

However, Craven's increasing problem of fly-tipping has also concerned local councillors, who have called for a rethink on the policy of extra tipping charges.

Coun Dennis Hall said: "This dispute is the result of a bad policy of charging for bulky items. People are now fly-tipping and they will not pay the extra tax being imposed on them. The policy needs changing and if not changing, certainly reviewing.

"Once again this is exploitation of an already hard pressed business person to pay more taxes."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.