The waste department promptly responded to calls to clean the piece of land on Oxford Road in Bedford Gardens.

Ward 20 Clr Jill Humphreys had also requested the parks department and the EMPD to join the clean-up on October 16. However, the EMPD did not attend.

Humphreys said there had been several clean-ups in the area, and added that she preferred the presence of the three aforementioned departments because the EMPD was needed to help move homeless people. Parks removed dead foliage and overgrown weeds.

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Humphreys said, “I am grateful to our waste department, which helped here today with the clean-up. We got a tractor-loader-backhoe in here and cleared some areas.”

She said there is an enormous amount of illegal dumping in the ward’s open spaces.

“There are homeless people who come here, live in these areas, and leave an unbelievable amount of litter.”

Humphreys said a neighbouring church asked that the area cleared become a vegetable garden. She is keen for that to happen, but so far, the city has been reluctant to grant approval.

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“As with many of our city’s properties, unless the private sector steps in, we can’t keep up with necessary maintenance.”

The CoE and the EMPD were contacted for comment, which we will share as soon as they are received.