District council to fine fly tippers £400 a time under new powers

Another tool in the fight against fly-tipping has been added to North Kesteven District Council's armoury.
NKDC offices, Sleaford.NKDC offices, Sleaford.
NKDC offices, Sleaford.

Another tool in the fight against fly-tipping has been added to North Kesteven District Council’s armoury.

Yesturday (Thursday) the authority’s Executive Board approved a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) charge set at £400, after new regulations allowing local authorities in England to issue the notices came into force.

The council is responsible for investigating fly-tipping in the district and the FPNs can be served as a penalty for small-scale fly-tipping offences in lieu of prosecution for a criminal offence.

Where there are significant amounts or hazardous material, or if the perpetrator has carried out the tipping in the course of their business, if repeat offences have been committed or where the situation meets the public interest for prosecution the authority says it will still seek to take action through the courts.

Each instance will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

Only last month, the council approved mobile CCTV cameras to be deployed at fly-tipping hotspots to identify offenders and in the summer signs went up in places where perpetrators have been successfully prosecuted for leaving their waste.

Coun Richard Wright, Executive Board Member for enforcement, said: “North Kesteven is a beautiful district and we want it to stay that way for our residents and visitors, without it being blighted by unsightly fly-tipping.

“These powers, alongside the tough stance we already take, should reinforce the message to potential perpetrators that we will do everything we can to bring them to justice.

“Last year we spent in the region of £75,000 on dealing with fly-tipping, money which could be better spent on services the district wants and needs.

“Ultimately, we would rather people didn’t fly-tip in NK and we hope that the powers at our disposal, alongside the record we have at prosecuting offenders, will deter people from thoughtlessly and illegally dumping their waste.”

NKDC was responsible for more than 80 per cent of all fly-tipping prosecutions taken by Lincolnshire’s seven councils last year, even though it has only around 12 per cent of the total incidents within its borders.

In the 12 months up to March 2016, the authority recorded 987 offences of fly-tipping across its 356 square mile area, the third lowest of the seven district areas.

The council pursued 14 of last year’s cases through the courts, 16 the year before and four in the year before that.

Anyone who spots any fly-tipping in the district can report it online at www.n-kesteven.gov.uk