Fly-tipping in Winchester: Record level of incidents reported

New data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reveals a shocking picture of fly-tipping across the district.

In 2020-21, 2,120 incidents were reported to Winchester City Council – a rise of almost 95 per cent from the previous year – and the highest number of cases recorded since comparable records began in 2012-13.

The district saw 16.8 fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 people – below the average across England, of 20.1.

Household waste accounted for 1,037 (49 per cent) incidents last year, while 29 separate incidents were classed as large enough to fill a tipper lorry. These incidents cost the council £3,855 to clear up.

But the Defra data also indicates that the authority carried out no enforcement action, something that has been challenged by the authority.

Cllr Angela Clear, cabinet member for communities and wellbeing, said the authority was “working hard” on the issue, but the authority would not provide exact figures on prosecutions.

• Amazon tight-lipped over Winchester fly-tipping investigation

Cllr Clear said: “With people being so much more home-based for extended periods, fly-tipping increased and with Covid-19 restrictions on Household Waste Recycling Centres the situation was, of course exacerbated.

“The amount of enforcement has increased to counter this anti-social behaviour, in fact we issued more fixed penalty notices, more warning letters, more formal cautions and started more prosecutions in 2020/21 than in the year before. Fly-tipping is a curse on the countryside, and we are working hard to crack down on it.”

Cllr Clear continued: “I would always argue that the simplest solution would be for people to dispose responsibly of their rubbish – we continue to invest considerable resource in dealing with it.”

A spokeswoman for the council said it is looking at why the data has not been received by the national statistics co-ordinator, adding: “Meanwhile we can confirm that we have the second highest number of Fixed Penalty Notices and the third highest number of prosecutions in Hampshire.

Figures seen by the Chronicle following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from free fly-tipping reporting app and website ClearWaste.com indicated there were a small number of prosecutions.

According to the FOI, the council prosecuted two cases in 2020-21, but others were postponed due to the pandemic, and it handed out six fines – four of which were unpaid.

ClearWaste founder Martin Montague

Martin Montague, creator of ClearWaste.com, who lives in the Meon Valley, said: “It is very disappointing that Winchester City Council, like a lot of councils, has a very poor record on fining or prosecuting fly-tippers.

“Although the council says it is stepping up in work in tackling fly-tipping it has a very long way to go. Nearly all councils, including Winchester, are not doing nearly enough to catch and then fine or prosecute fly-tippers.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in incidents of fly-tipping since the start of the pandemic across the country and unfortunately that includes the Winchester area. However the council can’t just blame the pandemic for its poor enforcements levels as similar sized councils by population like West Lancashire Borough Council (144,000 people) issued 97 fines and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (110,000 people) issued 75 fines.”

Mr Montague continued: “Fly-tippers used the fact that many council tips closed at the start of the pandemic and then had restricted opening times when they opened again as a reason to ramp up their illegal activity. Some of the fly-tipping will have come from unscrupulous tradespeople, but much of it will have come from rogue traders conning consumers.

Fly-tipping at Bushfield Camp

“When people have DIY leftovers, garden waste or stuff they’ve found after a clear-out they often ask for recommendations on social media – but they shouldn’t just hand their unwanted stuff to someone with a van who offers to remove it for them for a bit of cash.

“If they do it will almost certainly end up fly-tipped and the householder may well then get prosecuted as, by law, it is their responsibility to ensure that their waste is taken away by a licensed and legitimate company.

“Fly-tipping is really bad for the environment and can be fatal to wildlife and it costs taxpayers thousands and thousands of pounds to clean-up, money that could be better spent on things like schools or care for the elderly.We need higher fines, the vehicles of offenders crushed or confiscated and prison terms for persistent waste criminals. The fact that so many local authorities issue no or very few fines and prosecute no or hardly any waste criminals is appalling and sends out the message that fly-tippers can operate in those areas with impunity.”

The figures from Defra have been released for every council in the UK and we have put together an interactive map to show you the fly-tipping hotspots.