Leader hits back at fly tipping criticisms
HYNDBURN’S council leader insists the environment remains a key priority for the borough, after criticism of its failure to penalise fly tipping.
A motion on fly tipping and dog fouling by Conservative councillors Josh Allen and Judith Addison was due to be heard by Hyndburn’s full council on Thursday.
It claimed: “Ensuring that the people who disrespect our towns, villages and countryside in this way are brought to account should be a priority for Hyndburn Council - making sure there is a deterrent to stop this completely unacceptable behaviour.
“Hyndburn Council has worryingly issued no fines for fly tipping during the period of July 2019 to June 2020 and has used local taxpayers’ money to clear over 3,000 cases during this time.
“This sends the completely wrong message to those who damage our area in this way, making it apparent the Council will not seek to identify and fine them. It also tells residents that Hyndburn Council is not on their side in the fight to keep Hyndburn clean and green.
“We resolve to ask the chief executive to undertake an urgent review to understand what has gone wrong in this failure to hold to account fly tippers - and put in place an action plan to crack down on this totally unacceptable behaviour and bring the offenders to account for their actions by taking a zero tolerance approach and issuing fines and other steps as needed.”
In response Coun Parkinson told the Observer: “The priority is to make sure that the environment is looked after. Of course we want to fine people who dog foul or fly tip. During the [Covid] crisis the council has had to prioritise services to deliver. At the same time, previously the Conservatives have lobbied against the fining of individuals and said it was draconian.”
He added that a full explanation would be provided at the meeting.
Other motions to go before councillors include one on the decline of high street banks in our townships, one on support for community efforts to end holiday hunger, and one on the fair distribution of police funding for Lancashire.