Steve Wharton clears a flytipping site at Barnard Gate
Flytipping is now less of a problem in west Oxfordshire thanks to a junk fighting team.
Flytipping incidents in the area fell by 85 - 11.5 per cent - during the year, according to the latest national statistics published by the Environment Agency.
The latest incident, on Monday, saw the council team swoop on an area off Cuckoo Lane at Barnard Gate, between Witney and Eynsham, to clear up a dumped garden shed and other rubbish.
Area police commander, Ch Insp Dennis Evernden, said: "We are interested in this kind of environmental crime because it's often linked with other crime, like burglary and metal thefts.
"Flytippers are not just lazy individuals but also rogue traders who dump builders' rubble, kitchen sinks, whatever, to avoid paying the fee at licensed rubbish dumps."
West Oxfordshire District Council is celebrating success a year after it set up a dedicated team of two environmental enforcement officers, who have been mapping where flytipping happens.
advertisement
In the past 12 months the council has cautioned and prosecuted eight offenders, including Standlake resident Andrew Wilson who dumped large quantities of rubble and kitchen building waste by the side of the main A415 road, just outside his village.
Wilson, of The Furlongs, was fined £600 and ordered to pay £200 costs plus a £15 surcharge to cover the costs of removal.
David Harvey, cabinet member for the environment, said: "A reduction in flytipping is excellent news, particularly as the public have identified it as one of their environmental crime priorities."
In addition to reducing the number of incidents, the costs of clearing up fly tipping have been cut by 28.1 per cent, from £42,421 in 2006/7 to £30,508 in 2007/8 (a reduction of £11,913).
Bill Oddy, the council's head of community services, said: "We now know where the hot spots are. There are three bad ones we are closely monitor- ing."
Dumping commercial waste can result in a £300 fixed penalty fine, while the cost of a licence for offloading it at a controlled waste site is £144.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Oxfordshire Branch welcomes the news that flytipping rates are dropping in west Oxfordshire.
Dr Helena Whall, campaign manager said: "Flytipping is a menace that blights attractive countryside.
"That is why CPRE has launched Stop the Drop, to make the countryside what it was almost everywhere until very recently, and what most of us still want it to be - a place of cherished beauty and sometimes utter perfection."
Other areas of the county have also reduced reported incidents and countywide the reduction is 5.4 per cent. There have been 16 cautions and prosecutions in Oxfordshire compared to none the previous year.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
