AS chairman of Darlington and District Private Landlords Association I attended a meeting at the town hall where the tip in Whessoe Road was discussed.

I was not surprised to hear that incidents of fly tipping have already increased sufficiently to become apparent to council officers who do regular patrols despite the fact that the new regulations governing tipping have only been in effect for 14 days.

We all appreciate that in this time of austerity cuts are inevitable but I would urge the local authority not to impose additional charges on private householders that may encourage them to drop off the items they wish to dispose of at roadsides, in back streets and any other convenient area.

Doing so would make the new regulations a false economy.

A private householder who fits a new kitchen or bathroom should be afforded a facility to off-load the articles he is replacing without being hit with an extra charge.

It seems illogical that wardrobes are okay to dispose of but not old kitchens which come into the category of “fittings”.

One assumes that free standing kitchen furniture would not attract a financial penalty?

I would urge our councillors to think again on this to maintain the high standards of appearance that Darlington has always been proud of.

Perhaps the money allocated for new wheelie bins, that no one seems to want, could be better used allow householders free use of the tip?

Terry O’Connor, Darlington.