Fines issued over fly-tip nuisance
HALTON residents have been fined three times since powers were introduced to crack down on fly-tippers earlier this year.
At time of writing, £300 had been paid and £700 remained outstanding but was expected to be collected within two weeks.
Two of the fixed penalty notices (FPN) were issued to Runcorn residents and one to someone from Widnes.
The figures were released under the Freedom Of Information Act.
Halton Borough Council’s executive board approved the introduction of FPNs for flytipping offences in March after being recommended by environment and urban policy chiefs in February.
A month earlier at the turn of the year, the Woodland Trust had shamed Windmill Hill woods in Runcorn as one of the nation’s worst fly-tipping hotspots.
The charity said 280 bags of rubbish plus TVs, mattresses, white goods and other items had been removed from the east Runcorn woods during 2016.
It added that clean-up costs totalled £23,000 over four years.
The matter was reported in the Weekly News and also featured in the Daily Telegraph. ●
Under the fines scheme launch by Halton Council, residents who fly-tip can be fined £400, reduced to £300 if paid in 10 days.
It was hoped that introducing FPNs would provide an adequate deterrent without the local authority having to resort to prosecu- tion via the courts, which had been the only recourse to taking action before the fines’ were launched.
The level of fine was set at the maximum level allowed under law after council staff reviewed schemes in other areas.