Latest news with #ClevelandCouncil
USA Today
5 days ago
- General
- USA Today
Rats, some the size of a cat, becoming a problem in UK neighborhood
A rat the size of a cat was found inside a home in the United Kingdom, and local representatives say the animal is part of a growing problem in the area. David Taylor and Stephen Martin are representatives for the Eston Ward in North Yorkshire, England, on the south bank of the River Tees. The pair shared an image of the large rat on July 28. 'It's almost the size of a small cat. And it's not a one-off,' the pair wrote in a Facebook post. 'Rats are being spotted more and more around our area.' Rats have been seen in alleyways, around bins, on overgrown land, inside homes, and sometimes, even crossing the street, the representatives wrote online. In another post, the pair called the animal the 'Normanby rat.' USA TODAY has reached out to Taylor and Martin more information. Push for government to fund pest control, clean up community Taylor and Martin said the council for their area, Redcar & Cleveland Council, no longer handles domestic rat infestations. They offer advice, the pair said, but residents have to pay privately to handle pest control issues such as rats. 'As your local councillors, we're calling on the Council administration to take this seriously, the people on the ground who do work extremely hard but we need this all round the borough,' they wrote. The two also pushed for a full vermin survey and treatment plan across the borough, funding to handle the infestations, and collaborations among businesses, landlords, and affordable housing providers. 'We make no apologies for acting on behalf of residents,' they wrote. 'As your Eston and Normanby councillors, we raised the alarm because people were genuinely concerned.' 'Time to get rid of the RATS' According to the councillors, there was a meeting with the council's vermin control officer, who said social housing providers and the water board will get together to create an action plan. Social housing providers have also said they'd reintroduce pest control across the homes and land under their jurisdiction. The councillors said while it's not the local government's fault that the rats are there, the government has failed to cut grass, address litter problems, and has failed to properly fund street maintenance. 'Finally, a genuine thank you to the hardworking, overstretched staff on the ground, who continue to do their best under difficult circumstances,' Martin and Taylor wrote. 'Time to get rid of the RATS.' Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
South Wales Argus
7 days ago
- General
- South Wales Argus
Giant rat size of a small cat discovered in UK home
The potentially record-breaking rat in UK terms - said to measure approximately 22 inches long from nose to tail - was discovered recently in a property in Normanby, Teesside by a pest controller that had been called to investigate. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has been told the dead mammal, a photograph of which has been shared on social media, had been nesting in the home. It has been likened to a 'sewer rat' and, while it is unknown how it accessed the property, rats had been reported in the area in back alleys nearby. In a Facebook post, Eston ward councillors David Taylor and Stephen Martin called on Redcar and Cleveland Council to get a grip of the problem, working with other agencies. They said they wanted to see a 'full vermin survey and treatment plan' implemented in council-owned areas across the borough and joint action also involving businesses, landlords and social housing providers. How to get rid of these common garden pests Cllr Taylor also described public bins in parts of Eston and Whale Hill 'overflowing', with shops, particularly takeaways, dumping items in them and providing 'easy food' for rodents. Overgrown vegetation on public land, providing hiding spaces for rats, was another aspect highlighted. He said the council had to take the problem seriously with sightings increasing. Rats can spread disease to humans and are also known to breed quickly. Cllr Taylor said: 'The longer this is ignored, the worse it will get. It is a growing problem.' He said the rat caught was 'massive', and likened to a small cat or dog, and he had been told by people working in pest control a typical sewer rat could get that big. Native wild animals in the UK As with many other local authorities, Redcar and Cleveland Council no longer offers a pest control solution to private householders, although it retains a full-time officer to tackle issues on council land. Meanwhile, not all social housing providers automatically offer such a service, or if they do it is only on a discretionary basis. Cllr Taylor praised the council's 'workforce on the ground doing an absolutely amazing job', but said more direction was needed from the top of the organisation on the matter. He said he accepted the extensive action being called for would 'cost a fortune', but the problem arising was also a health risk.
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Redcar and Cleveland Council sick days costing millions
Staff on the sick are costing a council about £2m a year in lost time, according to a new number of days lost per full-time equivalent employees at Redcar and Cleveland Council peaked at 9.66 days in 2023/24, a "significant increase" on just over seven days in authors suggested the findings were due to "the impact of consecutive years of austerity and recruitment freezes", with staff "being stretched ever further".The Labour-led council, which has won a better health at work award, has been contacted for comment. The financial losses were revealed in a report to members of the council's resources scrutiny committee, which added the days lost per full-time equivalent had recently dropped the 12 months to February the figure was 8.8 days, while the council's current, shifting target is 8.5 days lost per full-time equivalent member of report said: "The trajectory of sickness absence steadily increased from 2015/16, with the exception of 2020/21 when staff were shielding - the trajectory then steepened post-Covid."The top three reasons for sickness were given as stress, depression, anxiety and fatigue, along with hospital procedures, time-off required post-op, and chest and respiratory issues. Below other councils In the 12 months to February, 78% of council staff were off between one and 20 days, with 22% deemed to be long-term absent having taken more than three the past year, just under 140 staff were off ill from a workforce of approximately 2, council committee report, said last year's peak of 9.66 days was in fact below two other neighbouring councils – Stockton (10.8 days) and Hartlepool (10.31 days).The report said the council was working to bring down the figures, with a new managing health, attendance and wellbeing policy agreed last year and training provided for all added staff also had access to occupational health, physiotherapy and counselling 2023, a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development showed the average rate of employee absence across the UK was 7.8 days per employee per year, which was even higher in the public sector at 10.6 days. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Demonstration against waste incinerator plans
Demonstrators gathered outside a council meeting to protest against plans for a waste incinerator. Campaigners claimed the Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF), which would be built at Teesworks in Grangetown, Redcar, was "unfair and dangerous". Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is one of seven across north-east England that would use the facility, burning up to 450,000 tonnes of waste per year to generate energy, according to plans. Protestor Dr Matthew Keegan said he believed it would directly impact on the community's health. Developers said it would be safe and sustainable. As well as Redcar and Cleveland, the incinerator would take waste from homes in the Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton council areas. Redcar and Cleveland Council was due to vote on the plans but a decision is yet to be made. Ray Casey, from Stop Incineration North East, said councillors needed to "pause" and have a "rethink". He said: "We don't need an incinerator right now. "We are not advocating landfill either, what we are advocating is more modern material recovery facilities. "Recycle all of this material without landfilling it, without burning it". Independent councillor Tristan Learoyd, who brought the motion against TVERF, said: "There is nowhere in the world where there is a higher density of incineration than here in Teesside. "The massive carbon output from this incinerator will be larger than the whole of Redcar and Cleveland combined." Grangetown has the highest death rates from respiratory disease, and lowest average healthy life expectancy in England, according to a report on Left Behind Neighbourhoods by The Local Trust, a charity that funds community projects. Dr Keegan said there was a correlation to lung disease and development issues from outputs generated by incinerators, such as nitrous oxide. The price of living next to a 'monster' incinerator 'No alternative' to incinerator, council says Project partners from TVERF said facilities like the planned Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator were a "reliable and safe technology" which have been subject to "intense regulatory and academic scrutiny over decades of operation". "The project represents the safest, most reliable and most sustainable way to manage our region's residual waste," they said. "Facilities are subject to constant monitoring throughout their operational life to ensure adherence to strict environmental permit conditions." Backers of the plan claimed it was "a continuation of practices that have taken place in Teesside for many decades without incident or concern". Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Burning your rubbish: The UK's big polluter Hazardous waste treatment plant plans denied Incinerator plan sparks health fears protest 'No alternative' to incinerator, council says TVERF Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Redcar incinerator council meeting demonstration
Demonstrators gathered outside a council meeting to protest against plans for a waste claimed the Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF), which would be built at Teesworks in Grangetown, Redcar, was "unfair and dangerous".Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is one of seven across north-east England that would use the facility, burning up to 450,000 tonnes of waste per year to generate energy, according to Dr Matthew Keegan said he believed it would directly impact on the community's health. Developers said it would be safe and sustainable. As well as Redcar and Cleveland, the incinerator would take waste from homes in the Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton council and Cleveland Council was due to vote on the plans but a decision is yet to be made. Ray Casey, from Stop Incineration North East, said councillors needed to "pause" and have a "rethink".He said: "We don't need an incinerator right now. "We are not advocating landfill either, what we are advocating is more modern material recovery facilities."Recycle all of this material without landfilling it, without burning it". Independent councillor Tristan Learoyd, who brought the motion against TVERF, said: "There is nowhere in the world where there is a higher density of incineration than here in Teesside. "The massive carbon output from this incinerator will be larger than the whole of Redcar and Cleveland combined." Grangetown has the highest death rates from respiratory disease, and lowest average healthy life expectancy in England, according to a report on Left Behind Neighbourhoods by The Local Trust, a charity that funds community Keegan said there was a correlation to lung disease and development issues from outputs generated by incinerators, such as nitrous oxide. Project partners from TVERF said facilities like the planned Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator were a "reliable and safe technology" which have been subject to "intense regulatory and academic scrutiny over decades of operation". "The project represents the safest, most reliable and most sustainable way to manage our region's residual waste," they said."Facilities are subject to constant monitoring throughout their operational life to ensure adherence to strict environmental permit conditions."Backers of the plan claimed it was "a continuation of practices that have taken place in Teesside for many decades without incident or concern". Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
