Writer Bill Bryson leads the way in battle for rail clean-up
Add to My Stories Travel writer Bill Bryson is leading a campaign against rail companies to demand that litter is cleared on land they own.
Bryson, who is president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is fronting a legal challenge which is using a little-known law to force Network Rail to clear the piles of rubbish that gather near railway lines.Mr Bryson, author of A Short History of Almost Everything, says the rail company has ignored requests to clear up tracks in Cambridgeshire.
'The first impression for a visitor arriving in a town is often formed by ! their vi ew from a train carriage, and it is a disgrace that view is so often a degraded and dirty one that suggests a lack of care or pride in the area.'Jack Neill-Hall of the CPRE said: 'The track around Cambridge Station is littered with bottles and cans and plastic bags.'It's very unsightly and yet its the first thing that people see whenthey come by train to one of Britain's most historic cites.'Some of the worst places for litter are by roads and by railways.'Other CPRE campaigners are targeting Network Rail in London, St Austell in Cornwall, Hersham in Surrey, Ainsdale in Merseyside, Clacton in Essex, and Gravesend, Kent.Last year one campaigner, Peter Silverman, forced the Highways Agency to clean up huge sections of the M40 after applying for an order.The orders were introduced in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. They cover local councils, rail companies, the Highways Agency, schools, colleges, hospitals, port authorities and airports.According to the CPRE's guide to litter law, someone wishing to tackle a litter blackspot should take photographs of the rubbish over several months and then write to the public land owner asking them to clean it up.If nothing is done, they should write again giving five day's notice that they are applying for an order. If the litter has still not been cleared up a Litter Abatement Order can be sought from the Magistrates Court.
Bryson, who is president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is fronting a legal challenge which is using a little-known law to force Network Rail to clear the piles of rubbish that gather near railway lines.Mr Bryson, author of A Short History of Almost Everything, says the rail company has ignored requests to clear up tracks in Cambridgeshire.
Campaigning: Writer Bill Bryson will use a little-known law against Network Rail in response to their failure to clear up mountains of rubbish, plastic bags and bottlesThe CPRE wants members of the public to follow his example and use a Litter Abatement Order against all public bodies who fail to keep streets, verges and parks clean. By law any public land manager, such as the Highways Agency or a council, must keep their land free from rubbish.
If they do not and if they ignore written requests to clear it up anyone can then take out an abatement order forcing a clear-up. The orders are sought from a magistrates court and cost between 80 and 200.
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'The first impression for a visitor arriving in a town is often formed by ! their vi ew from a train carriage, and it is a disgrace that view is so often a degraded and dirty one that suggests a lack of care or pride in the area.'Jack Neill-Hall of the CPRE said: 'The track around Cambridge Station is littered with bottles and cans and plastic bags.'It's very unsightly and yet its the first thing that people see whenthey come by train to one of Britain's most historic cites.'Some of the worst places for litter are by roads and by railways.'Other CPRE campaigners are targeting Network Rail in London, St Austell in Cornwall, Hersham in Surrey, Ainsdale in Merseyside, Clacton in Essex, and Gravesend, Kent.Last year one campaigner, Peter Silverman, forced the Highways Agency to clean up huge sections of the M40 after applying for an order.The orders were introduced in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. They cover local councils, rail companies, the Highways Agency, schools, colleges, hospitals, port authorities and airports.According to the CPRE's guide to litter law, someone wishing to tackle a litter blackspot should take photographs of the rubbish over several months and then write to the public land owner asking them to clean it up.If nothing is done, they should write again giving five day's notice that they are applying for an order. If the litter has still not been cleared up a Litter Abatement Order can be sought from the Magistrates Court.
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