Agenda item

To receive the report of Jon Sharkey, Head of Public Realm.

RECEIVED the report of Jon Sharkey (Head of Public Realm).

Main parts of the report were highlighted which included the challenges faced in preventing fly tipping in the Borough and the work undertaken across the Council to address this issue. Additional measures had been taken to reduce fly tipping in the borough which included free larger recycling and replacement bins, easier process for residents to make requests for larger bins, IT improvements and larger capacity refuse collection vehicles. It was also advised that four additional fly-tip removal crews had now been deployed to Council Housing Estates along with three additional refuse collection crews. Information and education are also provided to residents which includes information posters in multi-languages as well as labelled bins to avoid confusion. Two dedicated Waste Enforcement Officers have also been retained, and their role includes investigating reported witnessed fly tipping/dumped waste, proactive patrols searching waste (pink bags), partnership working with the Street Cleansing Team, as well as visiting businesses and working with the Police and Resident and Ward Forums.

Despite these attempts and where fly tipping persists, Officers advised that enforcement action will then take place. This includes the issue of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs), Statutory Notices/Warnings and these may ultimately result in prosecution through the courts. The Waste Enforcement Team have also started to utilise CCTV to assist in the investigation of waste offences and it is anticipated that greater use of CCTV will be undertaken as more cameras are brought online and this area is expanded.

Further information was provided on new initiatives and ongoing work which included targeted enforcement days, community payback, communications campaign, posts on social media and floor stencils in hot spot locations.

Questions and comments were invited from Panel members.

In response to a question regarding the ‘Free Bulky Waste’ leaflet shown on page 15 of the PowerPoint presentation,  Cllr Jewell, Cabinet Member for Environment confirmed that this had been printed in various languages. The Chair as well as Cllr Chinelo, Cabinet Member for Public Spaces, Culture & Economy suggested that this leaflet be placed in Councillors’ pigeon-holes which could then be distributed to residents by Councillors on their walkabouts and at Ward Surgeries. Action: Officers

In response to a member’s question regarding the number of FPNs issued it was confirmed that the authority had handed out more than 9,000 fly-tipping and littering fines and made 1,550 prosecutions during 2022/23. Cllr Jewell also added that Enfield Council also issues between 35 and 40 FPNs every month for spitting, which further shows the commitment to tackling people that treat the streets badly.

Further clarity was sought regarding the table on page 28 of the report, and it was agreed that following the meeting, Cllr Pratt would email his specific questions to Officers (via the Governance & Scrutiny Officer) for a detailed response, which would then be circulated to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for information. Action: Officers

Reference was made to the Labour Group’s Manifesto pledge in 2022 of installing an extra 200 CCTV cameras in the borough to catch fly tippers and a question was raised regarding how this had been costed and whether these cameras had now been introduced. Cllr Jewel confirmed that the plan to provide 200 more cameras had been costed as part of the budget and it was still the council’s aspiration to roll them out. He added that the Manifesto pledge was for four years, so there was no rush to install 200 cameras within the first year, however, the actions being taken by the council to crackdown on fly-tipping in Enfield were already making a significant improvement, with more people than ever being prosecuted for illegal dumping.

Some Members felt that widespread use of CCTV is the only real deterrent to combat fly-tipping and was therefore disappointed that as of April this year, only 10 out of the 200 additional cameras pledged had been installed, and therefore sought clarification on the proposed timescale for the roll out plan. Doug Wilkinson explained that after installing the cameras, the council realised some lampposts were not strong enough to power them and furthermore, some of the mobile CCTV camera batteries had not lasted as long as the suppliers had promised. He added that the council had spent a lot of time with products and suppliers to test the equipment, but it was proving difficult to get the right type of kit that would be redeployable and reliable along with the battery life required. Once the governance and technical process was in place, it was hoped that planning of the roll out would start towards the end of the year and a further update would be provided to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at this time. Action: Officers

A concern was raised regarding the littering of cigarette butts by delivery drivers at Winchmore Hill Green (and other hot spot areas where delivery drivers converge) as well as coffee cups being discarded in the street at a nearby business premises and asked if the Council were taking a

pro-active approach to this problem and issuing fines where possible. Esther Hughes (Head of Service, Consumer Protection & Waste Enforcement) provided information on the approach taken with businesses, which included visiting premises to ensure that they have the correct arrangements in place for disposing of their rubbish. She also confirmed that Council Enforcement Officers have been asked to patrol the hotspot areas where the discarding of cigarette butts is an issue.

In response to the Chair’s question regarding the delivery of educational talks in Primary Schools, Officers advised that the first round of these talks had taken place during the past 18 months, with visits having been made to schools who had expressed an interest. This plan was ongoing and schools would be re-visited again in the near future.