Gloucester City Council issues thousands of fines for littering

More than 1,700 people have been fined over the last two years for littering and flytipping in Gloucester.

Gloucester City Council’s latest figures also show £83,260 has been paid in fixed penalty notices.

In July 2019, the council entered into a contract on a trial basis with 3GS to provide a service to tackle environmental crime, including littering and flytipping.

This agreement was cost neutral in that the operational costs were met through the payment of fines.

In 2021, a total of 966 fixed penalty notices were issued which equates to £51,985, while so far this year 740 people have been caught littering and £31,275 has been paid in fines.

Council leader Richard Cook (C, Kingsway) told last night’s cabinet meeting that there were two different methods of tackling the issue.

“We have the 3GS team who issue fixed penalty notices to people who drop litter but they also do some educational work to let people know there is a greener alternative than just dropping rubbish in the street.

“They are doing an effective job in the city centre.”

He also praised the work of the council’s inhouse envirocrime team who are looking at installing cameras to tackle flytipping.

The team recently secured six extra CCTV cameras which were decommissioned from another district and donated for use in Gloucester.

These cameras will act as a deterrent in hotspot areas as well as allowing the team to serve penalty notices on offenders.

Culture and leisure cabinet member Andy Lewis (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) said littering has a massive impact on the city centre but he is very impressed by the work done to tackle the issue.

“The officers’ heart is in the right place and they are passionate about keeping the city tidy. People should expect a fine or be taken to court if they mess up our city.”

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk