Agenda item

Eden Geddes, Enforcement & Multi Agency Task Force Manager, introduced the report  making the following key points: 

•  From 2022-2023, local authorities in England had dealt with approximately 1.8  million fly tipping incidents. Approximately 3,000 of these were in Thanet.

•  In July 2023, the government published an antisocial action behaviour plan. This plan was committed to changing the laws and systems to take a zero tolerance  approach to a wide range of anti-social behaviours. 

•  Within the action plan, there was the option to increase fines issues for fixed  penalty notices in relation to fly tipping. 

•  The council recommended increasing the penalty limit for fly tipping offenses from £400 to £1,000. Furthermore increasing the breaches of care notices in relation to waste from £400 to £600. 

Councillors commented and asked the following questions: 

•  There was support for this proposal from Councillors. 

•  Fly tipping was a blight on Thanet’s community. 

•  Income from fly tipping fines was considered relatively small. The increase in  penalties was centred around trying to discourage fly tipping rather than trying to  collect monetary funds. 

•  Would there be more posters in the public sphere regarding the increase in penalties? 

•  Was there a reason why the council did not choose to increase the fine for  littering and graffiti? 

•  CCTV was considered very important within this realm, the council should make  the most of this. 

•  There was an education programme that needed to follow on from this for the  public, and notably for airbnb’s.

•  Mobile CCTV would be a positive if possible. 

•  Was there a strategy for the council to gain more successful prosecutions?

•  What was the proportion of professional fly tippers? 

•  When did Maidstone council raise the penalty for fly tipping and did the council see  a decrease in fly tipping due to the charges being increased? 

•  Was there a process whereby individuals can be brought into line, without being  given a criminal offense for fly tipping? 

•  Had the housing associations been engaged with by the council? 

•  Were the new cameras covert cameras? 

Eden Geddes responded with the following points: 

•  A comprehensive communications plan would be looked into regarding new  posters. 

•  This area of enforcement principally only covered fly tipping offenses, not littering offenses. 

•  Investigating fly tipping was operated through prescribed legal frameworks. The  council had been making better use of CCTV resources. The work streams were  continually being developed. 

•  Larger scale fly tipping scenes were principally done by professionals.

•  Maidstone increased their penalties in September 2023. Currently there was no  data to confirm whether the increase acted as a deterrent. 

•  There were statutory waste notices which would be enforced upon by section 46  notices. 

•  Housing associations were engaged with and the council worked in conjunction  with these associations where appropriate. 

•  The council had moved away from covert cameras. However, there were times  whereby the council worked with organizations with covert cameras. 

Councillors noted the report.