A HEAPING mountain of rubbish has left a community “mortified” and at their wits end, with used needles and sanitary products sprawled across the estate.
Scurrying rats, swarming flies, and a lingering stench are blighting a growing monster fly tip at Samuels Tower in Chatham, Kent.
With a few weeks of hot weather, the rotten smell has now only gotten more intense.
For the unlucky residents, this has been their reality for the last ten or so years.
Jordan Banfield, a 30-year-old father of two, is one of the many frustrated tenants, having lived at Samuels Tower for just over four years.
He has called the situation “mortifying”, claiming he no longer has any family or friends over to visit.
Jordan said: “I’ve lived here since 2022, and it’s never changed. I mean at this point they may as well call it a landfill.
“I have a seven year old son and on our second Christmas here he came over to our flat for Boxing Day.
“As he was opening presents, a mouse ran across his lap. So, as well as affecting our mental health it’s also unhygienic.
“It’s like we are living in a Victorian period before proper waste disposal.”
Jordan also has a newborn baby – and he is at breaking point.
He added: “That’s why I’m going to move. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Patruta Maica, is another resident, who blames the growing pile on fly-tippers.
The 26-year-old said: “Sometimes other people come and drop off their rubbish from their cars. And the bin trucks don’t take anything away.”
“Sometimes they take one bin bag, or two bin bags, but never all. It’s bad because outside is hot, and smelly, and out comes the rats.”
Tenants are also faced with no choice other than to keep adding to the pile, as there is nowhere else to dispose of their waste.
Another individual who cares for a resident of 13 years with severe learning difficulties explained the block has not always been this way.
The anonymous woman said: “It was nice and clean when she first lived here.
“Now it’s horrible. Especially in this peak as well, it’s starting to smell. And you’re getting rats down there, and foxes ripping the bags open.
“I wouldn’t advise anyone to move around here. This block or that block, it’s horrible.”
Multiple residents have explained that council-funded bin men regularly visit the site, but that waste is rarely taken away as its now too big of a problem for them to manage.
A Medway Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the issues at Samuel Towers and have been liaising with the management company, which is responsible for both securing access to their bins and clearing excess waste, to encourage them to clear the site so our waste crews are able to access it going forward.”
AM Surveying and Block Management took over the establishment in April of 2025.
In response to the complaints, Chris Carter, AM Property Manager said: “The site has always had issues with fly tipping/waste build up, which was evident when we took over management of the block.
“Unfortunately, the car park and the access road to it is in a very secluded area, and so it seems to be a hotspot for illegal fly tipping.
“We have spent a total of £25k in regularly removing dumped waste/fly tipping over the last year. We have already overspent on this item by 400%.”
The managing agency also installed a height restricting barrier last year, in hopes to reduce the number of people fly-tipping on site.
He added: “We are planning to install an automated gate/bollard system as the next step but there are costs associated with this which do not make this a simple job.
“Furthermore, there are approximately £85k in service charge arrears amongst the Leaseholders, many of which are currently referred to external solicitors for debt recovery.”
