Wiltshire Council issues first £1,000 fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping

Wiltshire Council has issued its first £1,000 fly-tipping fixed penalty notice (FPN) to a Swindon resident, who has become the first recipient of the new increased charge. 

The new £1,000 fixed penalty rate was introduced by the council for small scale fly-tipping offences committed on or after 23 April, as a greater deterrent to people illegally dumping waste in the county; it was previously £400.

The waste was found deposited on land off Chaddington Lane, Royal Wootton Bassett, and was traced back to a household in Swindon.

In addition to this, the council has also issued two £400 FPNs, as the incidents took place before 23 April. One was issued to a person from Devizes who fly-tipped a bed base, and one to a former Salisbury resident for fly-tipping directly outside of the Churchfields household recycling centre in front of an enforcement officer. The people who received FPNs cannot be named as it is not a conviction in court.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: There is no excuse for dumping waste in our beautiful county and we'll continue to pursue those responsible for committing this serious offence.

These new increased penalty charges are a perfect example of our commitment to tackling fly-tipping here in Wiltshire and it sends a clear message to anyone of thinking of doing so.

We have a zero-tolerance approach towards fly-tipping, as set out in our Business Plan and our award-winning We're Targeting Fly-tippers campaign, which is why we continue to invest significant sums into officers and technology to tackle this environmental crime.

If anyone spots fly-tipping in the county, I'd urge them to report it to us using MyWilts and we'll investigate and take action.

To find out how the council is tackling fly-tipping in Wiltshire and how to report fly-tipping, people should visit Fly-tipping