Slough is Berkshire's fly-tipping hotspot, new data reveals

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) released a breakdown of statistics earlier this month on how many fly-tipping reports were filed by each local authority from 2020.

Illegally dumping waste, known as fly-tipping, can range from waste alongside recycling sites to bulky items disposed of in country lanes and offenders caught will be faced with a £400 fixed penalty notice (FPN).

Repeat offenders of blatant fly-tipping could face prosecution as well as a maximum FPN of £50,000.

According to DEFRA’s data, fly-tipping on public land has increased by 16 per cent across England in 2020/2021. Councils have dealt with over one million fly-tipping incidents during this period, as recycling centres shut during the pandemic.

Tim Bamford. Photograph By: Sean Dillow

Country land and business association (CLA) Southeast, which represents thousands of farmers, landowners and rural businesses, regional director Tim Bamford said: “These figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside.

“Local authorities tend not to get involved with clearing incidences of fly-tipped waste from private land, leaving the landowner to clean up and foot what is often an extortionate bill. The government figures do not reflect the true scale of the crime because increasing reports of fly-tipping on private rural land are not included.”

DEFRA figures have revealed Slough is the fly-tipping hotspot in Berkshire – with just over 2,800 incidents reported from 2020.

About 2,400 of this were reported to be on the borough’s highways while 354 were on council-owned land. Most of these incidents were household waste, such as bags, that were unloaded by car boots and small vans.

READ MORE: Record level of fly-tipping in Windsor and Maidenhead

Out of the 2,821 fly-tipping reports, only 112 were investigated, leading to eight FNPs issued.

Slough Borough Council was contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead didn’t fare much better as it has the third-highest number of fly-tipping incidents, standing at 2,034 reported fly-tips.

Almost a thousand of these incidents were reported on footpaths and bridleways followed by council-owned land.

Slough is Berkshire's fly-tipping hotspot, according to DEFRA data

Much like Slough, a majority of these offences were from household items, over 500 of which were single black bags.

However, unlike its neighbour, Royal Borough enforcement officers have investigated all of the reported incidents and have issued only 155 FPNs to rulebreakers.

Cllr David Cannon, lead member for public protection

Councillor David Cannon, cabinet member for public protection, said the council takes a “zero-tolerance approach” against all forms of environmental crime, including fly-tipping, dog-fouling, and littering.

He said: “Those who fly-tip their waste are being irresponsible with little thought for the harm their selfish actions can cause the environment, wildlife and, potentially, the public. There are also financial consequences with the cost of clearing dumped waste.

“There is no excuse to fly-tip when there are so many ways to dispose of waste responsibly. Residents can use the Stafferton Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre to dispose of a wide range of items.

“The council has a dedicated enforcement team to tackle environmental crime in order to make the borough a cleaner and safer place to live, work and visit. We always seek to prosecute or fine fly-tippers when there is sufficient evidence to identify an offender.”

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Anyone who witnesses an environmental crime in the Royal Borough, or has information to help identify an offender, should get in touch to provide as much information as possible via the council’s website at https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/transport-and-streets/report-problem-flytipping.

To compare with other Berkshire authorities, Wokingham has recorded 2,284 reported fly-tipping incidents, Reading has seen 1,628 reports, West Berkshire is 1,151, and Bracknell has the lowest number of incidents at 629.

However, Reading has issued 353 FPNs to rulebreakers, which is the highest in the county, whereas Bracknell has given out none. Meanwhile, West Berkshire has only slapped out one fine from 2020.

CLA estimates there are almost 19 fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 of Slough’s population and 13.4 per 1,000 of the Royal Borough’s population.

Mr Bamford said: “Unless tougher or more realistic action is taken to combat this kind of rural crime, it will continue to wreak devastation across rural communities This is why it’s crucial that tougher punishments are imposed by the courts.”