Call for council to do more to stop fly tipping

A Lib Dem councillor is calling for Mid Sussex District Council to take action against fly tippers in the area.

Councillor Simon Hicks (Burgess Hill – Leylands) said reports of fly tipping in the district increased by more than 50 per cent in the first half of 2021 when compared with last year.

This, he said, highlighted the need for Mid Sussex District Council to investigate and prosecute fly tipping.

“I am concerned that the council has been dragging its heels in combating this scourge,” said Mr Hicks, adding that the Liberal Democrats have been pushing the council to issue Fixed Penalty Notices against fly tippers.

“Despite first agreeing powers to enable it to issue these in 2014, the council still has no trained officers in issuing penalties, although the council’s most recent commitment was for this to be implemented by November,” said Mr Hicks.

He said the council has powers to prosecute fly tippers and did not understand why ‘it has taken so long to build in the capacity to issue fixed penalties’.

Mr Hicks criticsied the online form for reporting fly-tipping, saying it did not request details that could lead to enforcement action.

He said the council has a ‘generally prompt’ system for removing fly tipping on public land and said it is the duty of private landowners to remove any from their own property.

“It is up to us all to ensure we use registered waste disposal operators to remove rubbish, and I would still encourage any evidence of fly tipping to be sent to the council, but to ensure their local councillor is copied in to follow up,” he said.

Councillor Alison Bennett (Lib Dems, Hurstpierpoint and Downs) agreed with Mr Hicks that the District Council must start taking action against fly tippers.

Councillor John Belsey, MSDC Cabinet Member for Environment and Service Delivery said the council is part of the ‘Let’s SCRAP Fly Tipping’ campaign with the West Sussex Waste Partnership, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Environment Agency, and other partners.

“In Mid Sussex we take all incidents seriously and we have fewer fly tips than most of our West Sussex neighbours,” he added.

Mr Belsey said the council ‘will always investigate and take appropriate action’ where there is evidence, but said it was ‘extremely difficult to establish who is responsible in most cases’.