Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has welcomed the news that Wealden District Council will receive Government support to help step up their battle against fly-tipping and better protect local communities.
Wealden District Council is one of 26 local authorities across England who will benefit from a share of almost £1 million support as part of the latest round of funding from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). This funding builds on almost £1.2m which has already been allocated since 2022 across 32 other local authorities as part of the fly-tipping intervention grant scheme.
Grants of up to £50,000 will support various schemes to take the fight to waste criminals, such as an increase in CCTV cameras in hotspot areas, AI-assisted camera technology, and campaigns to raise households’ awareness of their duty to only use licensed waste companies when getting rid of rubbish.
Under the Prime Minister’s Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan, the upper limit of on-the-spot fines for fly-tipping and for littering was increased to £1,000 and £500 respectively in July 2023; and on 1st April 2024, regulations to ringfence the money raised by councils from litter and fly-tipping penalties for enforcement and clean up activity came into force.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on the beautiful Wealden countryside, endangering wildlife, impacting on people’s pride of place, and putting added strain on council services. I recognise that fly-tipping is an issue of concern for many local residents. I welcome the increased maximum penalty councils can issue for these offences and I’m pleased that Wealden District Council is one of 26 local authorities benefiting from a share of this £1 million boost to introduce additional measures and resources to help tackle this crime.”
