Spot fines to deter litter louts and graffiti writers
Litter louts and graffiti writers beware. Wealden District Council will be issuing fines of up to £75 for these two offences.
It can also issue fines of up to £300 for other offences whenever authorised officials either see environmental crimes taking place, or have evidence to support the issuing of a Fixed Penalty Notice after the crime has taken place.
“Under the provisions of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, local councils are able to issue on-the-spot fines for offences like abandoned vehicles, fly posting, graffiti writing and dropping litter,” explains Councillor Sylvia Tidy, Cabinet member for Community Development.
“These environmental crimes are usually committed by thoughtless individuals, but they ruin the places where we live for everyone else. I hope on-the-spot-fines will make people think – possibly for the first time – before they paint on walls or throw away litter on the street. It is so easy just to take your litter home with you or use a nearby litter bin."
"We already aim to prosecute fly tippers whenever we have enough evidence to mount a prosecution. If we ignore environmental crimes, we run the risk of undermining whole communities, while at the same time tacitly encouraging people to commit further crimes.”
The Council has already issued its first Fixed Penalty Notice fine for £75 to an individual for dropping litter. Its Street Scene officers, and other officials, are authorised to fine individuals they catch abandoning vehicles, using the road as a car showroom, dropping litter, fly posting, writing graffiti, dumping shopping trolleys or damaging litter bins.
Members of the public can play a part in helping get rid of environmental crime by reporting graffiti and litter problems to Wealden District Council using the Report It pages on the Council’s internet site, www.wealden.gov.uk
