Call for more prosecutions to tackle fly-tipping 'menace' in Hartlepool

It was recently reported by Hartlepool Borough Council officers that they recorded 2,107 incidents of fly-tipping in 2019, and the number for January to September 2020 has already exceeded this, with 2,593 reports.

Officers also reported the estimated cost of clearing fly-tipping in 2019/20 was £233,000 and over the past five years is more than £1.1 million.

Councillors on Hartlepool Borough Council Audit and Governance Committee said the figures for fly-tipping in the area were ‘astounding’.

Cllr Marjorie James said the best way to send the message that fly-tipping will not be tolerated is for the council to find and prosecute offenders wherever possible.

It comes after last month Hartlepool Borough Council was successful in its prosecution of a fly-tipper and he was ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling over £2,400.

Cllr James said: “Fly-tipping is an actual menace nationally but is a major problem in Hartlepool, it costs us a lot of money every year to clean it up, and yet there are not a comparable number of prosecutions.

“What we really need to push hard on is that where there is evidence and it can be presented to a court, that we actually take those individuals to court.

“We also have the power to seize vehicles, trailers, whatever else may have been utilised as part of a fly-tipping episode. I think we just need to enable and encourage wherever necessary our officers to utilise the law that they have.”

Almost 740 tonnes of fly-tipping was removed in the borough last year, with a further 505 tonnes removed between April to September 2020, 49% higher than the same period last year.

Cllr Ged Hall, chair of the committee, said fly-tipping was a big problem throughout Hartlepool.

He said: “Recently we had over 2,000 reports of fly-tipping in Hartlepool, I think that’s an astounding figure.

“I don’t know about the different wards, but I think particularity in Owton Manor, even Rural West with dumping and fly-tipping there, and particularly in the central wards in Hartlepool, Burn Valley, Victoria etc, there’s a lot of fly-tipping as well, so it’s a massive trend in Hartlepool.”

Measures in place to tackle fly-tipping in Hartlepool include looking to close off access to fly-tipping hotspots in the borough, launching a publicity campaign, using CCTV to attempt to capture those responsible and taking enforcement action.

A working group is also to be established, involving partners from all sectors, including local litter picking initiatives, to consider how fly-tipping can be tackled.

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