Officers will target litter and dog fouling
Litter louts and dog owners who don’t clean up after their
pets will be in for a shock next month when enforcement officers
take to the streets of the district.
The district council has recruited the help of a private
company to clamp down of those who drop litter in the street and
who let their dogs foul public spaces. Penalty notices of £50 for
litter and £75 for dog fouling will be issued to offenders - with
the enforcement company, XFOR Local Authority Services, keeping £45
of each fine.
Launching the new initiative on Monday, Cllr Nick Kenton, the
council’s cabinet member for the environment, said litter and dog
fouling were two of the top issues raised by people.
“We we can take action on those and that’s what we are going
to do for a six-month trial period," he said.
“It’s what people say they want us to do, so we’ll do it. At
the end of the six months we will see how successful it has been,
and what sort of difference it has made to our district. Then we
will decide whether to continue with it.”
The company’s enforcement officers already work with other
district and city councils in Kent, and Cllr Kenton said they would
be learning from their experiences elsewhere.
To start with there will be a period of education, with
roadshows being held in Dover, Deal and Sandwich to tell people
what is happening.
The team will be at Dover's Market Square this Wednesday and
next Tuesday, at the back of Sandwich Guildhall this Thursday
and in Deal High Street on Thursday, January 24, all from 10am
to 3pm.
“We don’t want people to say they didn’t know it was
happening,” said Cllr Kenton.
He emphasised that penalty tickets would only be given to
those who acted with intent, not those who accidentally dropped
litter while getting something out of their pockets.
The scheme comes into operation on February 1, but the
enforcement officers are expected to warn offenders for the first
three days. Then the fixed penalties will be issued. Those who
don’t pay will be taken to court, and the police will be called if
offenders refuse to give their names and addresses.
Full story in this week's East Kent Mercury and Dover
Mercury.
14/01/13
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