Torbay Council is getting tough on littering and fly-tipping and has appointed a new enforcement team to clean up the Bay.
The new team – from National Enforcement Solutions – have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone committing environmental crimes in Torbay.
Initially, they will be focusing on tackling littering, dog control, fly-tipping, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, failure to produce a waste transfer note, and not presenting domestic or commercial waste bins in the correct way at the right time.
There will also be a consultation soon on dog poo offences and the plan is that the enforcement team will eventually be able to also issue fixed penalty notices for irresponsible dog owners who fail to pick up their dog’s mess.
Councillor Mike Morey, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture for Torbay Council, said: “Environmental crime impacts upon the quality of our environment, reduces our pride of place and can have negative and economic impacts.
“People are fed up of seeing things like fly-tipping, littering and mess on the streets and this sends a message that we will not tolerate this anymore in Torbay.”
Councillor Christine Carter, Cabinet Member for Corporate and Community Services, said: “The vast majority of us want to make Torbay a cleaner, greener place to live and this new enforcement team will really help us to deal with the small minority of people who continue to leave a mess behind them.
“This new team and the ability to issue fixed penalty notices for issues like fly-tipping and littering, brings us in line with a lot of other local authority areas.”
The fixed penalty notices will be as follows:
Since National Enforcement Solutions started in Basildon they reduced fly-tipping incidences by 21% while they also provide similar services in Harwich, Brentwood and Epping Forest.
Find out more including how to make payments and appeals on the Torbay Council website at www.torbay.gov.uk/enforcement.
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