Broxtowe council plans to bring in private litter enforcement company to fine residents for leaving mess

Around 74 people will need to be fined every week for rule breaches such as dog fouling and littering to make a new enforcement scheme work in Broxtowe.
Broxtowe Borough Council headquartersBroxtowe Borough Council headquarters
Broxtowe Borough Council headquarters

Broxtowe Borough Council is planning for a qualified private contractor to take over environmental enforcement and to increase the cost of fixed penalty notices to £100.

Councillors will meet at the Environment and Climate Change Committee on January 31 to approve the idea.

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In a report prepared for the meeting, the council says: “It is widely accepted that environmental offences can adversely impact on the local environment and can also influence how attractive areas are to residents, workers, visitors, local businesses and their trade.

“Ultimately, it can affect how safe and happy people feel about living in an area.

“This report sets out proposals to deploy a suitably qualified contractor to provide uniformed enforcement officers and the necessary infrastructure in order to develop a dedicated Environmental Enforcement Team that has the purpose of undertaking littering and dog fouling enforcement duties across the district.”

The new team would work seven days a week and have around five members of staff including a team leader and four enforcement officers.

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There will be no formal target for the number of fixed penalty notices that need to be issued each day or week by operatives.

However, the council says discussions held the with service providers have indicated around 74 notices will need to be issued per week, to deliver a sustainable service.

To make the scheme viable, it is proposed that the current fixed penalty notice charge of £75, reduced to £50 on early payment, for a littering offence is changed to £100 with a reduced charge of £75 for early payment.

The council says: “Based on this calculation a twelve-month pilot could expect 3,848 fixed penalty notices to be issued.

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“At just over 75 per cent payment rate this equates to 2,860 paid Fixed Penalty Notices per annum and estimated annual revenue total of £214,500 (based on all paying £75).”

The contractors approached by the council have advised they would be able to deliver a pilot scheme on a twelve-month basis.

The contract with the provider is at zero cost to the council and will generate 10 per cent income of all notices resulting in payment.

The appointed contractor will retain 90 per cent of the income generated.

Extra enforcement activity including fly tipping will also be added to the contract.

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