A Wollongong councillor says the old Princes Highway north of the city has become a ‘‘cesspool of inappropriate social behaviour’’, thanks to car hoons and illegal dumpers.
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The isolation of the road – which winds through bushland – is partly to blame, according to Helensburgh-based councillor Greg Petty.
The Mercury this week reported two piles of building material had been dumped along the Princes Highway north of Wollongong – one close to the Sublime Point lookout at Bulli Tops and the other near the Boomerang Golf Course at Maddens Plains.
On Thursday, Wollongong City Council staff removed one of the piles, before heavy fog set in and delayed removal of the second.
Cr Petty described the illegal disposals as ‘‘absolutely disgusting’’ and called for more to be done to deter would-be dumpers, including faster removal of the rubbish.
‘‘It’s happening with more regularity,’’ Cr Petty said.
‘‘I’ve actually made a call for CCTV in the area.’’
Cr Petty said talk in the community suggested someone from outside the area was responsible for the latest mess.
‘‘It’s just getting out of hand,’’ he said.
‘‘I would like to have seen it [the rubbish] cleaned up a lot quicker than it has been...It [the recent two dumps] actually happened Monday week ago [December 1].
‘‘We’re not cleaning them up quick enough and obviously, other people are seeing that, well, it’s an open slather.’’
According to council officers, the illegal dumping needed to be investigated before it could be removed, but the removal was done ‘‘as soon as practicable’’.
Cr Petty has also been alerted to reports of recent drag racing in the area and said an increased police presence was needed.
‘‘It’s the fact that road is pretty much isolated, unpatrolled.
‘‘It’s begging for these things to happen, which is disappointing in human nature,’’ he said.
‘‘Consequently, that’s why this road has become such a cesspool of inappropriate social behaviour.’’