Sevenoaks unites with other Kent councils to urge magistrates to take greater action on fly tippers

Sevenoaks District Council was one of 13 Kent authorities to write a joint letter to the Magistrates Association urging greater efforts to work together to tackle waste crime, in particular those who fly tip across the county.

The letter, sent via the Kent Resource Partnership (KRP) set out the impact fly tipping is having on the county, such as:

• Extremely high costs to Kent taxpayers with councils carrying out fly tipping clearances and taking forward investigations;
• How councils’ limited resources are being diverted from other valuable frontline services
• The negative impact on the natural environment with many fly tips blighting countryside and local beauty spots;
• How fly tipping is predominately taken forward by organised crime groups who are likely to be using money from fly tipping activities to fund other criminal activities.

With this in mind, the letter wants the opportunity for the 13 Kent councils to work with the Magistrates Association by:

• Arranging a virtual meeting between representations from the councils and the Magistrates’ Association over the summer;
• Understanding how sentencing on fly tipping is determined in magistrates’ courts and understand if there are local differences councils ought to factor; and
• Establishing the gap that councils need to cover to achieve greater levels of punishment to those fly tipping offenders, particularly those who are part of organised crime groups.

Sevenoaks District Council cabinet member for Cleaner and Greener, Cllr Margot McArthur said: “We are very proud to have an in house fly-tipping investigation team who work incredibly hard to bring people who dump waste to justice. Fly-tipping is not tolerated in our district and we would welcome greater punishments as a further deterrent to fly-tippers.”

Councillor Nick Kenton, Chairman of the Kent Resource Partnership added: “Before engaging with the Magistrates Association, Kent councils took forward a mini-review to see what levels of punishment were being handed to fly tippers in Kent over the past year.

“The results showed there was a clear gap on what maximum levels of punishment could be given compared to the actual punishments. We truly believe to stop fly tipping, greater punishment needs to be placed on those who commit these crimes. We hope working together with the Magistrates Association will better equip us to prosecuting fly tippers and keep Kent clean.”

The 13 Kent councils are working in partnership to Keep Kent Clean. To keep updated with the councils’ efforts to tackle fly tipping and littering, follow #KeepKentClean.