Fly-tippers to be hit by £400 fines across Stafford

Stafford Borough Council's cabinet will meet next week to discuss empowering officers with the ability to issue a £400 fixed-penalty notice in an effort to reduce fly-tipping across the borough.

There have been more than 1,700 reports of fly-tipping in the borough since 2012, however less than 10 per cent of those have lead to prosecutions.

Bosses hope that the new fines will send a clear message out to those who dump rubbish, as well as bringing down the cost of investigations.

At present, prosecution is the only way the authority can punish fly-tippers, although it does hand out £75 fixed-penalty notices for littering and dog-fouling.

Stafford Borough Council officer Julie Wallace said: "Fly-tipping is a significant problem to local communities and a risk to the environment.

"It is a drain on the council's resources and also undermines legitimate waste businesses where unscrupulous operators undercut those that operate within the law.

"Fixed-penalty notices act as a deterrent to offenders and councils using them are expected to see a decrease or a slow-down in growth, in the number of small scale fly-tipping incidents.

"There has been an acknowledgement by Government that whilst significant penalties exist for offenders found guilty of fly-tipping and costs incurred by councils pursuing offenders can be recovered, the financial burden and resource commitments often outweigh the benefits and do not always provide a sufficient deterrent.

"The new power is intended to provide a cost effective alternative to the prosecution of offenders in the case of small-scale fly- tipping incidents.

"It is anticipated that larger-scale incidents and more serious incidents involving hazardous waste would be subject to prosecution, as would serial offenders."

According to papers set to be discussed at the cabinet meeting on May 2, there have been 1,728 reports of fly tipping made to the council since 2012.

This has led to 784 investigations being launched, with the cost of clean-ups, court costs and investigation costs coming to £99,804.

Over this time, 41 people have been charged and fined, while and 13 people have been prosecuted.

Ms Wallace continued: "The costs of investigation, bringing prosecutions and ultimately clearance and disposal of fly-tipping are considerable.

"Where fines are issued as a result of successful prosecutions, they are paid to the court and prosecuting authorities must seek to recover their costs as a separate process."