Borough council wins praise on fly-tipping – from Cheshire MP

WARRINGTON Borough Council has won praise for its attitude to fly-tipping, from Cheshire MP Esther McVey.

The Tatton MP, whose constituency includes Lymm, says she is delighted Warrington is one of only 29 councils to have signed up to the National Fly Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG).
She said she had told the other two councils in her constituency – Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester – they should be following Warrington’s lead.
“I want to see councils use every resource available to them to tackle this scourge on our towns, villages and countryside.
“I will be speaking to the chief executive at Warrington about this initiative and seeing what more can be done to tackle the problem in our area and feeding that back to government ministers.”

During a Parliamentary debate on fly-tipping, Ms McVey called for a nationwide strategy to crack down on the problem.
She said hardly a week went by without her or her office being contacted about fly-tipping in some part of the constituency.
Regular bin collections and maintaining services at waste and recycling centres, along with re-visiting a policy suggestion of the previous government of handing out penalty points to drivers found guilty of the crime, could all add to tackling the growing problem blighting communities.
Ms McVey said: “Whilst there is not a silver bullet, every avenue to stop fly-tipping must be pursued. We need a joined-up approach that aligns Government policy with councils, and consistent enforcement measures and deterrents for potential offenders. We cannot continue to pay the price for other people deliberately leaving their rubbish on somebody else’s land. It is not just the cost to remove the rubbish; dumping waste presents a risk to public health.”

Ms McVey said residents had also raised concerns with her that, despite providing information on fly-tipping to police, nothing was being done.
She added: “Police must investigate these incidents, and there must be tougher penalties. If perpetrators think they can get away with it, that they will not be investigated and that it will not be taken seriously—and if the penalties are not high enough, they will do the calculation for themselves: it is easier to dump their waste rather than disposing of it properly. We need larger fines and for offenders to feel the full force of the law.”
During the debate Ms McVey was told The National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, chaired by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with representatives from central and local government, the waste industry, enforcement agencies, police and fire services and landowners, had produced guidance for councils to build robust cases to take to court to prosecute offenders.
Ms McVey added: “I am delighted Warrington Borough Council is one of just 29 councils that has signed up to the group, and I have told my other two councils that they should follow Warrington’s lead. I want to see councils use every resource available to them to tackle this scourge on our towns, villages and countryside. “