Hike in fines to combat fly-tippers

RISE BY 50PC TO £150 AS OFFENCES OF LITTERING SOAR

FINES for littering and fly-tipping will increase in Manchester after the number of offences rose by a third within a year.

Offenders will receive a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £150, which is £50 more than what the council had originally charged.

This will be discounted to £120 if paid within 10 days, with both sets of fines aimed at sending a zero-tolerance message while also covering the cost of enforcement.

A total of 4,360 FPNs were issued in Manchester between January and March – up from 3,176 in the same period last year.

Manchester council had agreed to impose a greater deterrent in February as littering had become a significant issue in the city centre.

But the increase was pushed back as resources were diverted to the pandemic while the city centre became ‘cleaner than ever’ during lockdown, according to one councillor.

It is unclear how many FPNs – if any – have been handed out since lockdown began but with the reopening of businesses expected to bring more people into the city centre, litter enforcement will start up again.

Coun Rabnawaz Akbar, executive member for neighbourhoods at Manchester council, said: “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had far reaching consequences, not least on the day to day business of the council.

“Before the pandemic plans were in motion to increase the fine people were liable to pay if caught littering. “We, like many other major cities are not immune from littering problems, and this move was intended to create a greater deterrent against littering.

“As a result of the lockdown the city has been virtually deserted for months on end and as a consequence the city centre is cleaner than ever. We want this to continue. “It is the ambition of the council for Manchester to become the UK’s first ‘Tidy City’ by the close of 2020 and we hope that with the momentum we have this goal can be achieved.”