FLY-TIPPING - A STAIN ON THE CLEAN NEIGHBOURHOODS BILL, SAYS CLA

"Litter clearing notices were designed originally to ensure that areas, such as shopping centres, were kept clear of litter - but they are too blunt a tool for dealing with open land where fly-tipping has occurred.

Frances Beatty asks: "Whatever happened to the principle of the polluter pays? In practical terms, innocent occupiers and owners will simply not have the resources to pay for clean-up and the steps necessary to prevent reoccurrence of the fly-tipping."

The CLA is calling on the Government to acknowledge that fly-tipping is a problem for society, exacerbated by the landfill tax as well as policies on landfill.

"Many occupiers of rural land clear fly-tipped material at their own cost to prevent further incidents and damage to, for example, livestock," Mrs Beatty continues. "Local Authorities and the Environment Agency rarely assist with the clean-up of fly-tipped material on private land. It is only when the Authorities clear fly-tipped material on all land that the true scale of the problem will ever be appreciated and real solutions found.

"The present situation is far from ideal, but this Bill will only make matters worse," she concludes.

- ends -

• The main provision dealing with fly-tipping is Clause 50 which seeks to amend section 59 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Under this Act, a notice can be served on an occupier of land requiring that material on land in breach of a waste management licence is cleared. An occupier can appeal against the notice on the basis that the material was fly-tipped. Clause 50 extends the power to serve a notice to owners, but retains the defence if the material was fly-tipped.
  
• Clause 20 removes section 90 of the EPA and introduces a new section 92A. The old section 90 of the EPA allowed the principal litter authority to designate land as part of a litter control area where it was considered necessary because the state of the land was detrimental to the amenities of the locality. It was a requirement that persons affected by the designation had to be notified, allowed to make representations, and their representations had to be taken into account in making the decision on designation.
  
• Clause 20 of the Bill removes Section 90 and introduces a new section 92A. Clause 92A allows for service of a litter clearing notice on occupiers or owners of any land which is open to the air requiring that they clear the land of litter or refuse and that they take reasonable steps to prevent the problem from occurring. There is no requirement to designate an area before service of a notice and to listen to the representations of those affected. There are limited defences against the notice, but none allow for a defence that the material was fly-tipped.
  
• CLA: The Country Land and Business Association is the premier organisation safeguarding the interests of those responsible for land, property and business throughout rural England and Wales.

For further information:

Frances Beatty, CLA West Midlands, Regional Director - Tel. 01785 284722, Mob. 07970 186506

Issued by Julie Mate, Marketing Manager, CLA West Midlands, Knightley, Woodseaves, Staffordshire  ST20 0JW.  Tel. 01785 284722  Mob. 07775 847123  Email. julie.mate@cla.org.uk