Bradstone Avenue site used for fly tipping Photo: Folkestone and Hythe District Council
A landowner who allowed his property to be used as a fly-tipping site is facing a bill of more than £3,000.
The man from London – repeatedly failed to clean up and secure the unoccupied site on Bradstone Avenue, Folkestone, despite being ordered to do so in the form of a Community Protection Notice (CPN) in September 2019.
The CPN – alongside other attempts to contact him – were ignored and with waste building up, Folkestone & Hythe District Council (F&HDC) was forced to arrange for the land to be cleared on two separate occasions in late 2019.
In his absence, the man was found guilty of two counts of failing to comply with a CPN at a Folkestone Magistrates’ Court hearing on 11 January. He was fined £500 for each offence and ordered to pay costs of £2,064 and a £100 victim surcharge.
Meanwhile – on the same day, but in an unrelated incident – another man from Folkestone, pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and was fined £320 by magistrates.
A member of the public witnessed him unloading a washing machine from a van onto land on Charlotte Street – and, crucially, made a note of the registration plate and took photographs ( one shown above) of the incident. This information was passed onto the council.
The 47-year-old was fined £320 for the offence and ordered to pay £180 costs and a £32 victim surcharge – bringing the total bill to £532.
Cllr Stuart Peall – F&HDC Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Regulatory Services, Waste & Building Control – said: “As both of these cases demonstrate, fly-tipping offences are taken very seriously by this council.
“We will not tolerate our district to be used as a bin by those who lack personal responsibility.
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“Simply dumping your waste wherever you fancy will lead to a thorough investigation by our officers – and possibly a court appearance and a big fine. Put simply, fly-tipping doesn’t pay.
“I would like to thank the member of public who passed on the valuable information to us in this case and urge others to do so if they see fly-tipping taking place.”
Bulky waste can easily be disposed of at Kent County Council’s household waste recycling centres or by using our bulky waste collection service.
To report fly-tipping incidents for clearing up and investigation, visit folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/report-a-problem