Agenda item

The Principal Officer (Planning & Enviro- Crime Enforcement) from Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) presented the Introduction of Enforcement of Littering from Vehicles for Members’ consideration.

In doing so it was noted that this policy enabled littering from vehicles to be tackled through civil enforcement in the future. This would help to assist in dealing with this matter, which was problematic, particularly in rural areas of the District. If the policy was approved, it was considered a reactive and proactive response and would enable the Civil Enforcement Team to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to the Registered Keeper of the vehicle from which the litter was thrown. It was noted that this would result in an additional resource in the tackling of litter within the District.

In terms of the PCN level, it was stated that this would be £250 and £125 (for prompt payment).

Members felt that along with the introduction of this type of enforcement, it was important to communicate a robust anti-littering message to residents.  This would ensure that residents were aware if a littering offence was committed from a vehicle, and that the Registered Keeper was responsible for the PCN. It was also requested that the communications should remind residents of the risk to Council staff in carrying out increased litter picks as part of their role and as a result of littering.

Councillor J. Robinson, who was in attendance at this meeting, queried whether there would be a targeted approach to this enforcement and how evidence would be gathered. Officers confirmed that this would not be targeted but would rely on the Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO) witnessing the offence and obtaining video evidence on their body worn camera equipment. The PCN would be issued by administrative staff when the CEO returned to the office, in much the same way as a parking PCN was issued.

The right to appeal was also queried, particularly as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) might not have the most up to date information on the Registered Keeper of a vehicle, or if the registration license plate was incorrect. This might result in letters being received from an enforcement agency to the incorrect person or address. Officers explained that there would be very few instances when this would happen, however there would the opportunity for review in some cases.

In terms of whether this would only be applicable to vehicles registered within the UK, it was confirmed that this was the case as it would be difficult to enforce for vehicles from outside the UK.

Members queried whether there would be additional training provided to CEOs to carry out these additional duties. It was noted that CEOs were already trained to carry out enforcement as part of their role. As Members were aware, Wychavon District Council provided parking enforcement for the Council and CEOs already carried out this type of littering enforcement in Wychavon and therefore the training would be easily applied within Bromsgrove. Officers explained that there had been five littering PCNs issued by Wychavon District Council in 2025.

On being put to the vote it was

RECOMMENDED that

1)    Civil enforcement of Littering from Vehicles be introduced;

2)    The Civil Enforcement Team be given delegated authority to issue Litter Penalty Charge Notices;

3)    The parking administration team be authorised to deal with appeals and enforcement matters in respect of Litter Penalty Charge Notices;

4)    The Penalty Notice Charge be set at the level set by Council for Criminal offences where a Fixed Penalty Notice is served for Depositing Litter (section  87/88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) which for 2026/27 subject to Council approval are proposed to be set as:

a)    £250; and

b)    £125 for prompt payment (within 14 days); and

5)    Authority be delegated to the Assistant Director Regeneration & Property to issue Penalty Notice Charges for Littering from Vehicles under The Littering From Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018.