Edinburgh parents fume after fly-tippers dump heaps of rubbish outside nursery

Parents at an Edinburgh nursery have hit out after persistent fly-tipping has reportedly blocked the only access route to and from the building.

Parents with children who attend the Forest Kindergarten nursery at Hawkill Woods, Greendykes Road, say that the site has been a magnet for household waste and dangerous objects being dumped since January.

With the school accommodating children aged between three and four, parents have told Edinburgh Live it is only a matter of time before a child is injured, with smashed glass and pieces of wood with nails exposed among items being left.

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On Tuesday evening, one parent reported a huge pile of rubbish which had been left recently to the council's help page on X and attached several other pictures of incidents going back as far as January 2024.

The woman claims parents have consistently reported all incidents and while the rubbish is eventually cleared up, it poses a risk to children and anyone else accessing the site, as well as blocking part of the only road in and out.

After contacting the council about the issue, Transport and Environment Convener Scott Arthur told us it is being investigated further and the council has also asked for patrols of the area to be carried out to catch those responsible.

Louise Day, whose child attends the school, said: "I drop off my daughter at the nursery and it is sometimes a risk trying to get my car through all the rubbish. It's so dangerous, there's glass all over the road and kids use the track on their bikes and some have additional needs.

"It is definitely dangerous. I think there are cameras but I don't know if they're in use as it's an old high school site. People are pretty annoyed with having to continuously report it and wait for it to be cleared.

"You just want to drop your kid off and not have any hassle or worry about their safety. It has been happening since January but I would say I've noticed at least three or four different incidents with new stuff being dumped.

"There's a lot of tyres and loft insulation, it's very strange. I'm assuming whoever is dumping this stuff is doing it at night as nobody has ever seen a van drive up the road. There is a gate but it doesn't seem to ever be locked so it's pretty easy to access.

"The piles of rubbish is on the route to the nursery and is definitely a hazard for children who attend, I just hope it doesn't take an accident to happen for something to be done about it."

While reporting the most recent case to the council, another parent attached several images and wrote: "Flytipping at a nursery entrance - @edinhelp are slow to clear it and don’t appear to be preventing it from happening again.

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"This is the only road to Hawkhill Forest Kindergarten, preventing vehicle access. It was reported yesterday and is not an isolated case. Kids aged 3 - 5 and staff are having to pass this on route to the nursery.

"It’s been happening since January. Cleared away eventually each time but surely this could be prevented? What if there is an emergency at the kindergarten? Services would be delayed getting through."

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Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Scott Arthur, said: “It’s always really disappointing to see fly tipping spoiling our city, as the selfish actions of a few can really affect those living in a local community. There is no excuse for it.”

“We had no previous listings for this incident but now that it’s been brought to our attention, we’re investigating this further. We’ve also arranged for our teams to make passing patrols in an effort to trace those involved.”