THE fight against fly-tipping is a struggle for the soul of Elmbridge society, a councillor has claimed, writes Nathan Weich.

Weybridge Riverside councillor Andrew Davis said that while new charges on dropping rubbish at the tip will ‘certainly’ not help the problem, a lack of community cohesion is the real reason behind the scourge.

Residents have also voiced fears, following a spike in fly-tipping on Desborough Island, that the charges will lead to more illegal dumping.

Cllr Davis, a Liberal Democrat, said: “As a council, we should be doing everything we can to reduce the amount of fly-tipping, and this new charge certainly won’t do that.

“That said the reason that people litter has more to do with them feeling as though they don’t belong to a community. We should be doing more to tackle the deeper issues that cause fly-tipping.

“People litter when they don’t have a sense of shared ownership or responsibility for a place. If we understand why they don’t then we can try to solve the problem.”

Desborough Island and Esher Common are considered to be fly tipping hotspots, and Walton Road in West Molesey had to be closed in October 2014 after dumped furniture made it impassable.

The new charge, which is due to be introduced on September 1, will be levied at nine Community Recycling Centres throughout Surrey on waste from construction, such as plasterboard, bricks and tiles, as well as tyres.

The fee is a result of the increased demand on council services in the face of less government funding.