Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Council crackdown on litter louts and vandals
‘There are many challenges ahead, but we are moving in right direction’
Council chiefs are vowing to intensify their war on mess across the district after drawing up a raft of actions to punish vandals, fly-tippers and litterbugs.
It includes training more wardens to issue fines for littering, installing CCTV to identify vandals at graffiti hotspots and using special investigatory powers to tackle fly-tipping.
A report before the city council’s community committee last week describes the measures as a response to the “increasing desire expressed by councillors and the community to take strong enforcement action against the perpetrators”.
The document also praises the efforts of community groups which organise their own litter-picks.
Cllr Ashley Clarke, the coun- cil’s litter liaison for Whitstable, told last Wednesday night’s meeting: “This report is music to my ears as I’ve been banging the drum for enforcement.
“This shows this council’s determination and ability to do something.”
Canterbury’s litter liaison, Cllr Terry Westgate, agreed.
He told the meeting: “Flytipping is a massive problem, and in my ward, St Stephen’s, it’s been a constant issue.
“Lots of black sacks have appeared. In one case, the bags were searched and the culprits identified.
“Four fixed penalty notices were issued.”
Cllr Clarke called for vandals and fly-tippers to be hauled before the courts, but the council’s deputy chief executive, Velia Coffey, said that would mean money the council would get from fines being lost to the court system.
Last year the city council published its Litter Action Guide, giving people information on waste services and what they can do to keep the district tidy.
After the meeting, Mrs Coffey said: “We have serious problems with litter, fly-tipping and graffiti in the district, so we welcome the plans take a much tougher approach to dealing with them.
“It is also encouraging to see the council’s willingness to work together with community groups in tackling the problems in residential areas.
“This spirit of cooperation was very much in evidence at last week’s litter roundtable, which was well-attended by representatives of residents’ groups, local councillors and council officers.
“The appointment of litter liaison councillors has been very effective and the publication of the Litter Action Guide on the council website is helping residents to get involved.
“There are many challenges ahead, but we are beginning to move in the right direction and we hope to see the launch of a hard-hitting anti-litter communications campaign in the coming months.”
Councillors have also been holding their own litter-picks.
Cllrs Alan Baldock and Jean Butcher organise picks in the Northgate ward, Cllr Steve Williams in Barton ward, while Cllr Nick Eden-green held a pick in his Wincheap ward on Saturday morning.
The next event in the litter calendar will be Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean on the weekend of March 3-5. Community groups will be organising litter-picks that weekend.
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