Environmental enforcement increase approved with residents warned 'don’t do it and we won’t be after you'

In a bid to leave no stone unturned in catching offenders, an additional 185 hours of manpower each week will soon be pounding our streets ready to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to those who commit environmental offences in the district. 

At yesterday’s Policy and Finance Committee, members approved the recommendation to implement a more robust enforcement scheme to deter offenders who blight our communities with litter, graffiti, fly-tipping and by leaving dog mess.

The scheme will see Newark and Sherwood District Council enter into a one-year pilot project with Waste Investigations, Support and Enforcement (WISE), a private sector company that has already seen success with neighbouring local authorities in Rushcliffe and Ashfield.

Officers from WISE will provide additional feet on the ground and support the District Council’s team of community protection officers (CPOs) by patrolling known problem areas seven days a week, 12 hours a day.

By significantly increasing the number of enforcement officers across our district, the aim is to capture the perpetrators of these environmental crimes, serve them with the fines they rightly deserve and to deter others. It is forecasted that an additional 74 FPNs will be issued a week throughout the one year programme.

Councillor David Lloyd, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “Here at the District Council we are committed to tackling environmental crime and will do whatever it takes to fine offenders and deter anyone from dropping litter, fly-tipping, spraying graffiti or failing to pick up after their dogs.

“Quite frankly, our message is simple. Don’t do it and we won’t be after you.”

This new initiative will build on the hard work the District Council has already delivered over the last few years to make the district a better place for those who live, work and visit here.  Its fly-tipping campaign, Not in Newark and Sherwood, has already led to a series of prosecutions with fixed penalty notices being issued to perpetrators.  The Council has already increased the number of litter bins and dog bins across the district with locations of these determined by requests, complaints, street-cleansing and foot traffic data.

Anyone can report environmental crimes such as fly-tips, littering, dog fouling or graffiti online using the District Council website or by calling 01636 650 000.