THE CONCERNS of Rugby residents over fly-tipping have been taken to the top by the town’s MP – helping to secure new council powers to tackle the problem.
Councils – including Rugby Borough Council – can now increase surveillance of illegal waste dumping hotspots after the government issued new guidance.
Local authorities have been given clearer powers to deploy covert cameras, drones and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to catch criminals in the act.
Mr Slinger repeatedly wrote to ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, asking them to update the guidance given to councils on surveillance of fly-tipping hotspots.
Mr Slinger told Parliament how Rugby constituents were at the end of their tether when it came to fly-tipping.
Commending the work of the Environment Agency locally to tackle illegal waste sites and the new powers to seize and crush vehicles of waste criminals, Mr Slinger asked how the new powers were expected to be used in practice, how local authorities would be supported, and what action would be taken if councils were unable to enforce against repeat fly-tippers.
He said: “Waste criminals are a scourge on our community – they blight our villages, our countryside and our streets. They cost taxpayers money and they harm the environment we all cherish.
“I’m pleased that recent guidance given to local authorities included my suggestions to ministers to include covert surveillance.
“This should allow for hidden cameras and drones to be used to catch these criminals, and I encourage all authorities to use these bolstered powers.”
Junior Nature Minister Mary Creagh said she shared Mr Slinger’s frustration over fly-tipping, as new statistics revealed there were 1.26million incidents of fly-tipping in the UK last year.
She added: “We know that courts now have powers to issue up to nine penalty points on fly-tippers’ drivers licenses to ensure that they think twice before they do a job for their mates on the weekend.
“We expect these powers to be used consistently, we have the national fly tipping prevention group, and the Environment Agency is stepping in on the serious cases, with increased funding, stronger powers and joint action.”
