Sutton resident ordered to pay over £1200 for rubbish eyesore.
A Sutton resident has been ordered to pay £1,263.84 after failing to remove excess waste at a property.
The resident was given multiple warnings about a large build-up of waste to the front, side and rear of her garden after the Council received complaints of smells and pests from the address. Upon inspection of the property, officers found dog faeces and a large build-up of household waste, rotten food, old mattresses, children’s toys, wood and damaged cycle bikes. The resident was warned about the issues and was advised numerous times to remove the waste, but the advice was ignored. The Council subsequently issued the resident with a Community Protection Notice on 13 March 2023. The notice required the resident to remove the waste from her garden within 14 days.
Despite these warnings and failure to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100, the resident failed to comply with the requirements set out within the notice which resulted in Council’s Community Safety Team taking legal action to prosecute. On 3rd August 2023 the case was heard at Mansfield Magistrates Court where the resident was convicted under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
They were fined £440 for failing to comply with the notice, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £176, and required to pay Ashfield District Council costs of £647.84 This came to a total of £1,263.84. The Court also granted the Council a Remedial Order requiring the resident to remove the waste by 31st August 2023.
Cllr Helen-Ann Smith, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Crime Reduction said:
“This is another example of the Council taking positive action to tackle irresponsible behaviour. The resident showed a total lack of regard by ignoring warnings issued by the Council about her waste. We will always try to work with residents to resolve issues like this, however due to the adverse impact this was having, we had no choice but to take the case to court.
The Council’s Community Safety Team have prosecuted two residents in the last two weeks for environmental relates offences. We will not tolerate environmental crime of any kind, and this should act as a warning to those who think that they will get away with dumping waste, fly-tipping or littering in our District.’’
Antonio Taylor, Community Safety Manager at Ashfield District Council, added:
“This is another fantastic result by the team to improve the local area. Every resident has a duty of care to ensure that their waste is disposed of correctly and legally. The resident in question failed in her duty of care and evidence gathered by the team lead to a successful prosecution and a recovery of costs.’’
