Issue - meetings

The Board considered the Quarterly Summary of Environmental Enforcement Action Taken for the period 1st January 2013 – 31st March 2013.

During consideration of this item the following issues were discussed in detail:

·                Fly tipping continued to be the most time consuming crime type investigated by the Council.  However, the Council’s approach to investigating fly tipping represented best practice and had received praise from the Hereford and Worcester Environment Group.

·                There had been one successful prosecution for fly tipping in the period and six other cases were in the process of being prepared for court.

·                There continued to be a steady stream of work tackling fly posting in the district.  Frequently fly posting occurred because companies were not aware of the rules on the matter.  In this context the role of the Council was to educate companies about acceptable practices.

·                Dog fouling was a persistent problem.  In particular, there continued to be problems with dog fouling in popular locations such as parks as well as in particular residential areas.

·                Targeted patrols were taking place in the district to discourage dog fouling.  Fixed penalty notices could rarely be issued for dog fouling as dog owners were more likely to comply when they observed enforcement officers in the area.

·                Dog walkers had been handed bags that could be used to dispose of dog faeces.  Unfortunately, sometimes these bags were not then placed in bins but rather were left on pathways or hanging from trees which created a litter problem as well as having health and safety implications.

·                Increasingly littering offences involved individuals dropping items out of their cars, particularly at traffic islands in Bromsgrove.

·                Residents were entitled to report littering offences.  However, in the event that offenders did not pay fines these residents needed to be prepared to attend court to testify and unfortunately frequently residents were not prepared to do so.

·                There had been no cases involving the transport of waste during the period.  However, spot checks were due to take place which could lead to an increase in reports on the subject.

·                There had been three fixed penalty notices issued during the quarter.  One of these penalty notices had not been paid and would be the subject of future court action.

·                The Council did not have an enforcement policy for responding to offences committed by juveniles, though a fixed penalty notice could be issued to anybody aged 12 or more.   

Members were advised that this would be the final time that the Board would receive a quarterly environmental enforcement report in this format.  The report was due to be amended in order to focus on outcomes.  There would be more information about the enforcement and investigation stages and a breakdown of information by crime type and broken down into Ward areas within the district. 

RESOLVED that the report on the Quarterly Summary of Environmental Enforcement Action Taken for the period 1st January 2013 – 31st March 2013 be noted.