Kentish Express Ashford & District
Litter crackdown pockets £26,400 for wardens firm
A private company has raked-in thousands of pounds after dishing out hundreds of on-the-spot fines to litterbugs in Ashford town centre.
Ashford Borough Council (ABC) hired contractor Kingdom in September to oversee its new scheme to crackdown on those blighting the town.
Since then the company has issued 573 fines to people who have fallen foul of the new rules, with each culprit having to pay £75.
When t he contract was announced, the council agreed that Kingdom would take £46.50 from each fine which is expected to add up to £140,000 over the course of a year, while the council would pocket £28.50 for its own coffers.
Since September nearly £43,000 worth of fines have been imposed, which means Kingdom will claim £26,644.50 and ABC will get the remaining £16,330.50.
The scheme has also seen the introduction of the ballot bins for smokers to stub out their cigarettes in Park Mall, and soon smokers will be offered pocket ashtrays to further prevent butts being dropped.
The council has also stepped up its efforts to prosecute flytippers, and last month 31-year-old Joseph Busby, of Crown Acres in East Peckham in Kent was ordered to pay a £750 fine, £750 legal costs and £122 to clear up the mess he left behind in Surrenden Road, Ashford.
The enforcement policies will also extend to planning laws, housing, littering, flytipping, and dog fouling, where the council will be introducing new posters in the worst hit areas.
The ABC cabinet member responsible for council enforcement is Cllr Mike Bennett, who has brought together a compliance and enforcement board.
He said: “The initial focus for the task group was on planning, but this has now been extended across all council services and many portfolios, driven by the new compliance and enforcement board.
“It has brought many chal- lenges, but with support of officers this first annual report highlights considerable progress.
“It is just a start and the foundations are now laid with a challenging agenda for progress in the coming months and years to deal with the small minority that spoil the quality of life for the majority.”
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