THREE fires which have broken out at an unoccupied unit at an industrial estate in Yoker since last November are causing anxiety amongst locals.

Residents who live near unit 1 New Albion Industrial Estate are concerned situations like this will continue to arise if the council doesn’t fence it off from the public.

They fear fly tippers will continue to dump their rubbish on the site and cause more mayhem in the middle of the night. Containers filled with tyres and other waste were demolished last Friday following concerns the eye sore would affect property values.

Petitioner Andrew McFarlane told the council: “This situation has been going on for a long time. We are very happy to have returned it to the way it once was. We want to deter fly tippers and not allow the site to go back to its previous status.

“We have had many sleepless nights when we hear a vehicle stopping in the early hours of the morning and wonder if this is another fly tipper turning up to unload their debris. We think the council should repossess it for resale.

“This started through an extensive fire at unit one in 2005. Residents had to be evacuated. We have had three other fires in the last four months.

“People can still walk and drive into the site. It is still open to fly tipping. If it was fenced off we could get a decent nights sleep.”

Members were advised the council couldn’t build a fence around the property without the permission of the owner who is believed to be living in South Africa.

Councillor Bill Butler said: “This is not just about disamenity or property values going down. It is about health and safety and preventing children from using it as a playground.

“It seems ludicrous to spend money on clearing the site and not secure it. I have written to the Chief Executive to ask to fence the site off.

“The residents have been dealing with this problem for more than 10 years. I hope you can all write to the Chief Executive and support my request.”

Councillor Archie Graham said: “This is a serious situation. If we can’t put a fence around the property then maybe we can install bollards on the pavement which is council property to stop people from accessing the site.”

Members agreed this was a good idea.

Councillor Ken Andrew said: “I was thinking along those lines too. Concrete bollards would stop unauthorised access.”

The committee agreed to write to the Chief Executive to see if a deterrent like this can be put in place.