Stratford Victoria Park pond clean-up reveals illegal rubbish dumping ground

The Victoria Park pond has been cleaned and a viewing area has been created. Photo / Alyssa Smith

A pram, 15 scooters and a cash register are just some of the items which were recently found in a Stratford pond.

Since mid-February, work has been undertaken by Stratford District Council to drain and clean out the pond at Victoria Park.

Stratford District Council service assets manager John Cooper said as the water was drained to complete the work, a “massive” amount of rubbish was revealed.

“We found around 15 scooters, three bikes, a pram, a cash register, two stolen signs from the local bike park, a bin from the skate park, guttering and nova coil, a heap of drink and food packaging, and over 15 road cones.”

He said illegal rubbish dumping is a growing issue affecting the council and community.

“It costs us a lot of money to clean up after these dumpers, and that money is coming from our district’s ratepayers.”

Some of the things the team have discovered lying in the bottom of the pond have added insult to injury, he said.

“It’s incredibly disappointing to have to spend money to replace a stolen park sign, but then to find it in the pond and have to pay again to clean it out and dispose of it is just the trash icing on the vandalism cake.”

Just some of the rubbish dumped in Stratford's Victoria Park pond.

Cooper said while rubbish was removed after the pond was drained, he expects to find more when the silt excavated from the pond is dry enough to be screened before it’s spread on to pasture.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone had chucked a partridge and a pear tree in there.”

The temporary fencing erected during the cleaning exercise has now been removed, Cooper said, and a viewing area has been created, with future plans to install seating in the area.

Dumping rubbish in public areas is illegal and may result in an infringement notice of up to $400. If people see rubbish dumped in parks, reserves or other pubic spaces, they can report it through the district council’s Antenno app or by calling 0800 Dumping. If the rubbish is in or near a waterway, people should phone Taranaki Regional Council’s environment hotline on 0800 736 222.