Blunder sees fly-tipping evidence lost after local councillor finds perpetrator details amongst rubbish.
City councillor, Alex Catt was left frustrated after a lack of resources and proper enforcement processes meant officers were unable to collect evidence of fly tipping that could have led to a large fine being issued.
Cllr Alex Catt, deputy leader of the Green group, said: “After finding a large amount of household items and rubbish dumped at Long Row in the NR3 area of the city, I noticed multiple letters with the name and address of the probable offender.“
“After contacting officers at Norwich City Council, I was told not to report the items for removal, to leave all evidence with the rubbish and let a council officer come out to investigate. However, when the officer was able to come and investigate, many of the items had been removed and the letters were missing, likely preventing fines from being given out.”
“The city continues to look like a real mess in places, and we are calling on the council to clamp down on the tippers. It needs to change its processes in these circumstances to ensure that vital evidence is not lost.”
With a small team covering the city, a lack of CCTV in many key fly-tipping hotspots and waste collection teams untrained in evidence collection, fines will now likely be impossible despite clear evidence. This is a story which must be being repeated hundreds of times across the city with offenders avoiding punishment.
Norwich City Council has only given out 13 fines for fly-tipping in the last five years despite roughly 6,000 instances every single year, and the council have failed to use new powers given by the government to increase the maximum fine from £400 to £1,000.
Green councillors are calling for Norwich City Council to start taking fly-tipping enforcement seriously by
-Expanding the installation of CCTV in fly-tipping hotspots across the city
-Increasing the fines for fly-tipping to the maximum set down by legislation
-Ensuring that fly-tipping collection crews are trained to collect evidence when responding to any instance of fly-tipping
-Making it easier for residents to alert the council of individuals they suspect to be repeat offenders in their area
-Issuing clear advice for residents and councillors on what to do if they expect evidence may be present when finding fly-tipping, to prevent evidence from being removed.
-Using new powers from central government to increase the maximum fine for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000