We have had a series of successful court cases in December, which saw fines totalling over £3,600 handed out to three individuals, following investigations by our Greenspace Action Team (GAT).
In February 2022, to combat frequent fly-tipping, our officers installed CCTV cameras on both Savile Street and Grange Road in Batley. Signage was also erected to warn of the presence of the equipment. Savile Street in particular, had been heavily targeted by fly-tippers with the cost to us of clearing the highway over the preceding 12 months estimated to have reached £50000.
The cameras soon captured numerous fly-tipping incidents, resulting in 15 individuals and three businesses being summonsed to attend court to answer charges under Sections 33 and 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
How much were they fined?
Three of those individuals attended Kirklees Magistrates Court on 12 December 2022.
Joe Brennan, 28/7/1993, of Kirkgate Lane, Barnsley, pleaded guilty and was fined £1,381 for illegally dumping bin bags and cardboard flat pack packaging on Savile Street.
On the afternoon of 5 March 2022, a fly-tip was discovered by Enforcement Officers. CCTV footage was reviewed and showed that on that afternoon, a car arrived at Savile Street and turned around. Items can then be seen being thrown across the camera before the vehicle leaves the scene. The vehicle involved in the fly-tipping offence was registered to Mr Joe Brennan.
Arab Hussain, 4/4/1999, of Upper Road, Dewsbury, pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and was fined a total of £694.
CCTV footage from around 11pm on 5 March 2022 shows a car arrive at the dead end on Savile Street and turn around. Items can then be seen being thrown from the rear of the vehicle across the camera onto the floor before the vehicle leaves the scene just minutes later. The car’s number plate was captured by the CCTV cameras and the vehicle was traced back to Hussain.
Qamer Malik, 29/12/1983, of Abbey Road, Batley, also pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and was fined a total of £1,602.
Once again CCTV from the hotspot caught Malik dumping several bags of garden waste from the back of his car on Savile Street, it was used to track him down.
Councillor Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for Environment, said:
“In these cases, our static cameras have proved an invaluable resource to help find and successfully prosecute those responsible. We also often rely on information from residents and would like to thank those who report incidents to us.
“There is no excuse for fly-tipping, it’s a criminal offence. We have several HWRCs in Kirklees, a reuse shop, and we also offer a bulky waste collection service. For the few that choose not to abide by the law, we can and do use everything in our power to track them down and make them pay.
“It’s your waste and you are responsible for getting rid of it in the right way.”
Find out more about responsible disposal on our website https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/bulkywaste