Agenda item

The City Wide Neighbourhood Manager introduced the report by advising that the report had been brought to the Committee at the request of the Gunthorpe, Paston, Walton and Werrington Community Committee.  The Community Committee had wished the Scrutiny Committee to gain a better understanding of the ongoing challenges with regard to fly tipping at Norwood Lane and the Paston Travellers Site.

A Solution Clinic had taken place on Monday 7 September to address the issues relating to fly tipping at Norwood Lane and the outcome was a 28 point action plan.  Some of the actions identified were:

·         Set up covert CCTV and work with rural police to start enforcement on people who were fly tipping on the lane with improved results expected within the next 6 months.

·         A week of action to be held led by the Neighbourhood Manager and the Safer Peterborough Partnership.  This would mean a big clear up of the Lane and travellers site. 

·         A mobile van to visit the site to engage with the travellers and advise them of the actions being taken.

·         Putting a barrier in place at the beginning of the Lane allowing only people living at the site access with a key.

·         A recommendation to move the permanent sites at the Oxney Road and Paston Travellers sites into housing within the City Council.  Consultations were currently taking place with the Council.

·         The need for an overarching strategy for gypsies and travellers.

The project plan for the 28 actions would be overseen by a project manager and the outcomes would be reported to the Cohesion Board.

Members were informed that the Paston site was in a bad state of repair and might have to be demolished therefore the future long term plan was to find other sites across the city but this was proving difficult.  There was also a new development at Paston that might impact on Norwood Lane in the future.

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

·         Had any covert CCTV operations taken place?   Members were advised that there had not been any in the last 12 months as it had proved to be an expensive exercise and not sustainable to maintain.  However since that time some CCTV equipment had been identified for use from within the Council and officers to use the equipment had also been identified but they would require training.  The cost of installation would be £12,000 but there would be no ongoing cost.

·         How would the residents of the Paston traveller’s site be involved in delivering the outcomes of the action plan? Members were advised that the community of travellers wanted to help and wanted to live like other residents in Peterborough. There would be a mobile van visiting the site with information on the actions and door to door knocking would ensure that all the travellers were fully aware of what was being proposed. This would also help in gaining an understanding of the community and engaging the travellers in the delivery of the outcomes.

·         How can members help to implement the outcomes? Councillor Walsh, Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion, had visited the site and requested regular updates.  She was also a member of the Cohesion Board which would monitor the performance to ensure that improvements were being delivered.

·         Could anyone apply for a permit to take rubbish to the tip? The Executive Director of Operations advised that there were a number of travellers who had permits to carry out legitimate business but he would need to find out what the criteria for obtaining a permit was.

·         How much would it cost to install CCTV at Norwood lane? CCTV costs were about £12,000 initially but had no ongoing costs however it would need to be policed as it could be subject to vandalism.

·         Members had noted that rubbish was also being dumped on a farmer’s land at Norwood Lane and wanted to know how it would be cleared as this was private land. The officer advised that she would have to investigate and report back to the Committee.

·         With regard to joint patrols with the local Police Rural Community Action teams how would the proposed reduction in funding affect these?  The Officer advised that this was classed as business as usual and part of their daily work so should not impact on this.

·         Members commented that it was not always travellers that dumped rubbish in Norwood Lane.  If the site was fully cleaned up and policed it should provide a solution.  Councillor JR Fox had attended the recent Solution Clinic and felt that the 28 point action plan would bring about some real changes.

·         Fly tipping was a criminal offence so why had no one been prosecuted?  The Executive Director of Operations advised that there had been covert work undertaken in some areas of the city which had produced a number of prosecutions but covert work was very difficult and very dangerous to deliver.  Commercial entities that fly tipped were more difficult to catch.

·         Members requested that a copy of the 28 point action plan be circulated to the Committee once it had been signed off.

·         Members felt that there needed to be stronger enforcement from the Magistrates and that the Council needed to talk to them to get their support by giving stronger penalties and confiscating vehicles that had been used for fly tipping.. The Neighbourhood Manager agreed to highlight this within the action plan and to contact the Magistrates. 

·         What did the people who lived at the Paston site feel about having a barrier put in place at Norwood Lane?  At the invitation of the Committee a member of the pubic addressed the Committee and advised that the barrier would be a problem to people visiting the site and felt that they would probably tear it down.  Businesses who worked around Peterborough used the site as a tip and came between the hours of 6.00am to 9.00am or late at night. It was accepted that there were also a few people from the site who dumped rubbish there but he believed they would stop if the other people stopped.  If the site was cleaned up it would deter people from dumping rubbish but if people saw rubbish there then they were inclined to add more rubbish.

·         The Officer advised Members that the barrier would be a deterrent whilst other work on the site was being completed but the residents of the site would be consulted for their views.

ACTIONS AGREED

That the City Wide Neighbourhood Manager:

1. Circulate the 28 Point Action Plan to Members of the Committee once it had been approved by the Cohesion Board.  This to be done via the Scrutiny Officer within one week of the meeting.
2. Bring the 28 Point Action Plan back to the Committee to be scrutinised to assess its impact at a future meeting the date of which to be agreed with Officers and Group Representatives.
3. Take into consideration all relevant comments made by the Committee.
4. Investigate how the rubbish left on private land at Norwood Lane would be cleared and report back to the Committee via the Scrutiny Officer.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Neighbourhood Manager includes within the Action Plan an additional action point that the Magistrates are requested to take stronger action and deliver stronger penalties for fly tipping. The Neighbourhood Manager to contact the Magistrates to discuss this action and request their support in backing the Council’s actions with regard to enforcement.