Tougher fines introduced for litterers in Chichester
The rules are also being extended to include graffiti, nuisance parking, and those who fail to clean up after their dogs
People who drop litter and fail to clean up after their dogs will find themselves even more out of pocket thanks to a decision by Chichester District Council.
During a meeting of the cabinet on Monday (July 15), members agreed that Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) for such offences should increase from £100 to £150.
And they also increased the scope of offences to include things such as grafitti and fly-posting, nuisance parking (£100 FPN), and littering from vehicles.
As Principal Litter Authority, the council has a duty to keep certain public land clear of litter and debris.
Until February, it had an agreement with East Hampshire District Council for the enforcement of litter and dog control offences.
But, with East Hampshire no longer offering the service, Chichester had to decide whether to bring things in-house or look for a contractor to do the work.
Jonathan Brown, cabinet member for environmental strategy, said bringing the work in-house would be ‘logistacally very challenging and not really viable from a cost or value for money perspective.’
So the cabinet agreed that a tender process could be started to find a contractor.
Mr Brown stressed that the increase in FPN rates was in-line with government regulations and the changes were not intended to be a money making scheme for the council.
The contract would be of zero cost to the taxpayer as the successful applicant would pay themselves from the money collected, with any left over going into a pot to pay for the clearing of fly-tipping.
Mr Brown said: “The advantages are that this increases the attractiveness of the job for potential commercial providers, which in turn increases the likelihood of the contract being successful and enforcement working well.
“And it also reinforces the council’s zero-tolerance approach to littering.”
The contract will provide for a team of trained, uniformed
enforcement officers, working in pairs, to carry out enforcement across the district from 9am to 5.30pm every day except Christmas.
It will run for three years, with the possibility of another three years after that.