Rats and rubbish clogging up Barton Haven

ACTION is needed to tackle a rat infestation and rubbish problems at a body of water in Barton, a meeting has heard.

Barton Haven – a late Anglo-Saxon artificial harbour – has fallen into disrepair, according to local experts, with rubbish piling up in the water and on the banks.

And with rats now being spotted around the Haven, the Barton-Upon-Humber Civic Society and the town council say they are desperate for something to be done about the problem.

Now the Environmental Regeneration Committee, consisting of Barton town councillors and members of the civic society, has met to discuss the issue.

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John French, a member of the civic society, said at the meeting: "The banks need to be cleared of rubbish and the channel of water needs dredging to improve the flow of water.

"There are sanitation problems and it has become a big eyesore as well. During last year's heavy rainfall, the banks became strewn with toilet paper and condoms, which was both unsightly and unhygienic.

"It has become worse and worse over the years, and has not got any better in the past 20 or so."

Martin D'Alessandro, another member of the civic society, said: "John French and I recently did a tour of the Haven area with a representative from neighbourhood services at North Lincolnshire Council.

"There has been some action lately, with shopping trollies being pulled out of the Haven. But we are still not terribly happy with the general appearance, which is very unsightly.

"It is strewn with rubbish, despite being an important area of the town that is very near a conservation area.

"I think it needs more concentrated improvement, especially knowing that it has some health and safety issues with rubbish and rats."

Ann Clark, a Barton town councillor, told the meeting: "Rats are definitely a problem at the Haven, because they carry disease. They have even been seen coming into the town by a few residents. It needs to be looked at and stopped."

The committee also discussed the condition of Anglian Water (AW) land to the south of the Haven, where rubbish has also accumulated.

Jonathan Evison, Barton ward councillor for North Lincolnshire Council, said: "Rubbish around the AW land has been a concern of mine for a while. It is a fenced off area, which is why it builds up so much and has become a foot-deep in places."

The committee agreed to write to the Environment Agency and AW to call for a clean-up.

Antony Innes, from Anglian Water, said: "We're aware that the build up of litter at our site near to Barton Haven can be unsightly.

"Unfortunately, the security fence around this site is a very effective trap for litter dropped by passers-by and while we will be doing what we can to prevent build-ups from happening whenever engineers visit this site, the problem will only be fully solved if people did not drop litter in the first place."