Council announces new partnership to tackle littering offences

Derby City Council has announced a new partnership with Kingdom Local Authority Support that will see Officers take to Derby’s streets and tackle littering and fly-tipping through education and enforcement. The announcement comes as the Council works with partners across the city to hold clean up events for the Great British Spring Clean.

This announcement also supports a key manifesto commitment made by the administration to tackle environmental crime and make Derby a cleaner city.

Kingdom Local Authority Support are one of the UK’s largest providers of environmental crime enforcement and have worked with Councils across the UK to tackle environmental and anti-social crime such as littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping. Kingdom have been contracted to initially work in the City Centre, Abbey, Arboretum and Normanton areas for an initial 12 months to tackle street littering and fly-tipping with the contract having no cost to the Council. The new officers will be patrolling from Tuesday 2 April.

The contract will be paid through the issuing of fixed penalty notices of £150 to those that choose to litter and £600 for those that fly-tip. The cost of a fixed penalty notice for littering and fly-tipping was increased following Cabinet approval in November 2023. Currently, the cost to the Council for removing fly-tipping is £330,000 per year. It is hoped that increased fines and more proactive investigation, education and enforcement by Kingdom Local Authority Support will reduce this cost.

The team will work alongside the Council’s existing Environmental Protection and Public Protection Teams and complement ongoing engagement and education work with local residents across the city. Officers from Kingdom will also provide a uniformed presence in the area and can be approached for support.

Councillor Hardyal Dhindsa, Cabinet Member for Communities and Streetpride commented:

“We’re working hard to make the city as clean as possible and working in partnership is key to this. We’ve been clear from the start that we’ll be taking more action against that small minority that drop litter or fly-tip on our streets when they know they shouldn’t.”

“The less we have to spend on cleaning up after litter louts and fly-tippers, the more we can spend on services residents want such as filling potholes and providing free bulky waste collections.”

John Roberts, Senior Director of Service at Kingdom Local Authority Support added:

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Derby City Council on the pilot program for environmental and anti-social behaviour patrols. Our approach will be multifaceted, working closely with the council’s in-house team to address littering and other waste offenses throughout the city centre and surrounding areas.”

“In addition to enforcement measures, we will also implement educational projects in schools to raise awareness about litter laws and the impact of litter on our communities. By engaging with younger generations, we aim to install a sense of responsibility and promote a cleaner and healthier environment for the future.”

Residents who spot littering or fly tipping are encouraged to report this online or by emailing ppoteam@derby.gov.uk. Residents can also report litter bins that need emptying using the online form.