Agenda item

REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY PROTECTION MANAGER

The Community Protection Manager and Community Safety Team Leader gave a presentation on fly tipping and environmental crime in the Southern Rural area.

Audio Recording – 50:00

The Community Protection Manager and Community Safety Team Leader gave a presentation on fly tipping and environmental crime in the Southern Rural area, raising points including:

·         Fly tipping had continued to increase, particularly over the last 18 months to 2 years during the pandemic, and Council officers and partners have been working really hard to tackle the issue.

·         From a low point in 2012/13, where 561 offences were recorded, fly tipping has massively increased to last year where 1871 offences were recorded. The increase on last year was 72%.

·         A lot of can be attributed to the early stages of lockdown.

·         Even though restrictions were being eased and waste sites are reopened, offences are still at a similar rate as to last year;

·         40% of flight tips that were cleared were in the Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo areas which accounted for 967 offences out of just under 2,500.

·         Out of the 80 offences so far this year in that area, 12 have had evidence to link to a person or an address; 8 of those 12 relate back to Luton.

·         While there had been an increase in offences and reports there had been no increase in staff to address them and the team was stretched;

·         In the last year 27 fixed penalties were issued, 6 individuals were prosecuted the team issued 10 Community Resolutions under the Anti Social Behaviour Act.

·         This year a further 12 fixed penalties had been issued, with one court prosecution and increased community resolutions up to 19;

·         The top five areas for fly-tipping throughout North Herts in the last three years were Hitchwood, Offa and Who at 967, Chesfield on 170, Arbury on 130, Weston and Standon at 109, and Knebworth at 100.

·         The team was working on data analysis to map offences;

·         The Southern Rural area was vast and had no natural centre which made prevention difficult;

·         Work was ongoing with Luton Borough Council, the Shared Anti-Fraud Service, and the National Anti-Fraud Network to prevent fly tips and track offenders;

·         The team was also working with community groups and parish councils to encourage the public to engage responsible waste contractors and to report fly tips;

·         Court proceedings against fly-tippers were not always effective measures due to long lead in times and low fines;

·         Lobbying work was underway to influence government policy in this area to make court orders a more effective deterrent;

·         Fly tips were now being advertised on the North Herts website and social media channels broadcasting the fines associated with them.

The following Members asked questions:

·         Councillor Claire Strong

·         Councillor Faye Frost

·         Councillor Mandi Tandi

·         Councillor Ian Moody

In response to questions the Community Safety Team Leader advised:

·         Fines are set by government for fixed penalty notices. The maximum that the Council can issue currently is £400 on a fixed penalty, and the minimum they can be reduced to is £120; NHCs rate was £300

·         Most fixed penalty notices were paid and payment terms were available for those who could not afford to pay in one instalment;

·         People issued with fixed penalty notices could not be named and shamed if and when the fine was discharged as it was not considered a criminal offence, and liability ends with the payment of the fine.

·         Setting up permanent CCTV cameras in rural areas was difficult in that identifying hotspots was hard and there were not readily available power supplies;

·         ‘Wildlife,’ style cameras were sometimes used but these were often detected by offenders;

In response to questions the Community Protection Manager advised:

·         When the Committee last received an update on fly tipping numbers were down; incidences had since increased;

·         The Herts Waste Partnership was leading on lobbying efforts to influence the government and Sentencing Council on improving the impact of court proceedings against fly-tipping; Members could support these efforts by amplifying this message and liaising with other authorities including local MPs;

·         Work was being done to educate the public on licensing and the necessity of checking whether waste carriers were disposing of waste legally to prevent fly tips before they occur;

·         There was certainly a correlation between the closure of waste disposal services at the start of the pandemic lockdown and an increase in fly tips.

The Chair thanked the Community Protection Manager and Community Safety Team Leader for their presentation.