Fly tipping fines issued across North Northamptonshire

22 September 2022

A business owner has been fined a total of £1340 after he fly tipped on private land in Irthlingborough and evidence was found by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC)’s Waste team.

At Northampton Magistrates Court in August 2022, Mr Phillips was convicted of a duty of care offence for not properly disposing of his waste.

As the waste was fly tipped on private land, it fell to the landowner to arrange for the fly tipping to be removed at her expense, but NNC and the Northamptonshire Office of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner have stepped in and helped with the removal of the waste through a scheme to support landowners with the costs. 

Under the scheme, farmers and other private landowners can apply through their local council for a grant from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner towards the cost of having the fly tipped waste removed and of putting prevention measures in place to make the land less vulnerable to fly tippers in the future.

A gate has also been installed at the entrance to the land to prevent unauthorised access and prevent future fly tipping. The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has contributed £1500 towards the gate and removal of waste.

Fly tipping is irresponsible and has a hugely negative impact on our local area and residents, not to mention the cost to landowners to clear up the dumped waste.

The cost of clearing fly tipped waste on public land is picked up by the taxpayer, which is frustrating enough for residents. But when it is left on private land, the landowner has to cover the cost of having it removed. So, I am pleased we were able work with the OPFCC to help, and a solution was found so that another incident like this doesn’t happen again on this particular land.Cllr Graham Lawman, the council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets

Fly-tipping is an offence and is taken seriously in Northamptonshire as this latest conviction shows. It is also hugely detrimental to the environment, a fire hazard and can be costly to remove. I am committed to tackling this issue and have a grant scheme where private landowners can seek financial support to remove fly tipped waste and install deterrents to make their land less vulnerable. 

We are happy to work with partner organisations to stop this anti-social behaviour and ensure perpetrators are prosecuted. There is no excuse for fly-tipping as there are provisions around the county where waste can be taken, whether you are an individual or a business.Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold

In a separate incident, a local business in Coffee Tavern Lane, Rushden had numerous bags of rubbish, a fish tank and cardboard left by their commercial bin in June 2021. Again, evidence was discovered by Officers which led back to an individual, who was fined a total of £949.50 for a duty of care offence.

Unfortunately we have seen several cases of fly tipping across North Northamptonshire over the past few months resulting in prosecution and considerable fines being issued. We have a zero-tolerance policy on fly tipping and, although a last resort for Officers, we will send cases to court if necessary.Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council

To dispose of waste responsible, please visit one of the Household Waste Recycling Centres (commonly known as ‘tips’) across the area or find out about bulky waste collection services in your area.

Fly tipping in North Northamptonshire can be reported online via the NNC website.