Fight The Fly Tip

Fight the fly-tip

Housing, planning and environment news, News

A successful bid for government funding has been approved for a new multi-agency project in the Epping Forest district to tackle the growing issue of fly-tipping and environmental crime.

Safer Streets funding

The Safer Streets funding of £50,653, combined with an additional £28,233 from Epping Forest District Council, and support from the City of London Corporation, will enable a comprehensive approach to address fly-tipping and other related anti-social behaviour and criminal activities.

Response to environmental crime

This collaborative project will bring together teams from Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) and the City of London Corporation (COL), which manages Epping Forest as a charitable trust, to create a robust response to environmental crime.

The funding will support a variety of initiatives including:

  • Enhanced joint training
  • Co-ordinated patrols
  • Deployment of CCTV and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) to detect and deter fly-tippers
  • Co-ordinated patrols with Essex Police, COL and EFDC officers
  • Raise awareness of suitable waste disposal

The project aims to reduce fly-tipping by creating a deterrent for fly-tippers while addressing other issues such as anti-social behaviour, drug-related offences, dangerous driving and littering.

Cost to the economy

In 2022/2023, local authorities across England dealt with 1.8 million fly-tipping incidents costing more than £13.3 million in clean-up efforts.

The Epping Forest district has not been immune to this crisis, with statistics showing 2,476 fly-tips being reported in 2023/2024, marking an increase of 9% from previous years.

And in Epping Forest alone, where the City of London Corporation is responsible for fly-tipping removal, there were over 300 incidents between 2022/2023. Clearing litter and waste from the forest costs the Epping Forest charity 10% of its annual budget.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act (1990) and carries fines of up to £50,000 or even imprisonment.

Fight against fly-tipping

Councillor Paul Keska, Epping Forest District Council portfolio holder for Regulatory, Technical & Community Safety Services said:

This funding is a crucial step in our fight against fly-tipping and environmental crime in Epping Forest district. Working together with our partners, we aim to clean up our communities and to reduce the number of fly-tips and other associated crimes.

Once again, this Safer Streets funding has been fundamental in creating a safer and cleaner district for residents and visitors by addressing the current fly-tipping crisis.

This project will not only work to deter fly-tippers but also inform residents and businesses on the importance of choosing licenced and trustworthy contractors for proper waste disposal.

Harm to the environment

Ben Murphy, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Epping Forest and Commons Committee, added:

Fly tipping causes significant harm to the environment and wastes resources that could be used to enhance Epping Forest, which millions of people come to enjoy each year.

Epping Forest is a site of special scientific interest, a special area of conservation, and one of the few remaining extensive natural woodlands in southern England. We welcome this renewed effort from our community partners to help protect it.

In addition to enhanced operational collaboration, this funding will add CCTV to our arsenal, with automatic number plate recognition technology to detect and prevent anti-social behaviour.

Step towards stopping fly-tipping

Essex Police Sergeant Robert Fitt said:

This kind of partnership work and extra funding is a great step towards stopping fly-tipping in our district.

We understand the wider impact of fly-tipping, so tackling this is crucial to bringing down incidents of related offending, making everyone safer in the process.

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