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Minister responds to calls for tougher sanctions to tackle fly-tipping

Minister responds to calls for tougher sanctions to tackle fly-tipping <i>(Image: Newsquest/UK Government website)</i>
Minister responds to calls for tougher sanctions to tackle fly-tipping (Image: Newsquest/UK Government website)

A MINISTER has responded to calls for tougher sanctions to tackle fly-tipping.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Sidwick joined his counterparts for Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucester and Wiltshire in February in writing a letter to the then-environment secretary, Therese Coffey, calling for tougher sanctions to tackle fly-tipping.

Last week, the group received a response from Rebecca Pow MP, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

She said Defra would consider the five proposals put forward in the letter the PCCs believe would reduce fly-tipping.

Bournemouth Echo:
Bournemouth Echo:

The response also said the government would explore the effectiveness of the different enforcement options available to local authorities, including fixed penalties, and the barriers they face in using them.

The group’s letter said ‘greater coordination’ and ‘tougher penalties’ are needed to meet the target of eradicating waste crime by 2043.

They said it’s time “criminals pay for fly-tipping, not taxpayers”.

The five proposals put forward by the PCCs included increasing maximum fixed penalty notices for small scale offences to £1,000 and imposing a minimum fine of £50,000 for repeat, large scale offenders.

While the group welcome measures such as digital waste tracking, fixed penalty notices and the increased use of CCTV in fly-tipping hotspots, they said more needs to be done to deter fly-tippers.

Bournemouth Echo: A flytipping site located behind the Dalkeith Arcade in Bournemouth.
Bournemouth Echo: A flytipping site located behind the Dalkeith Arcade in Bournemouth.

The cost of fly-tipping on private land is estimated to be up to £150million a year, and it is estimated that it costs local authorities in England nearly £50million to clear it.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick said: “This is a step in the right direction, and I am pleased that Defra will be taking into consideration our suggestions.

“Fly-tipping is a blight that causes a nuisance to residents, makes areas appear run down and creates potential health hazards and I committed to working with partner agencies to find new ways to tackle this problem.”