15 Jul Harlow man fined for dumping rubbish
Successful action taken by Harlow Council has led to one man being fined for dumping rubbish, while another has been successfully prosecuted in court.
The first case dates back to 7 November 2018, when the council received a report of dumped rubbish, from a council Housing Officer, at Stort Tower. Council Community Safety Enforcement Officers visited the area and discovered a dumped mattress and cardboard, including packaging which had the address of a Chris Clarke on it. The officers knocked at Mr Clarke’s address and got no reply, so issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN).
The FPN gave Mr Clarke 14 days to pay; this had not been done by 21 November so a final reminder was sent giving seven days to pay. Unfortunately no payment was received and the Council was left with no other choice than to issue court proceedings to recover the fine.
The case was brought to Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 27 June by an officer of the council’s Legal Services department; Mr Clarke did not attend but did submit a guilty plea. He was issued with a £150 fine and ordered to pay the Council’s legal costs of £300 and a victim surcharge of £30, bringing the total payable to £480.
The second case concerns the area outside Parndon Wood Nature Reserve, which has become a hot spot for dumped rubbish and fly-tipping. In response to the ongoing issues, the council has installed CCTV which has already led to the first fine being issued.
This CCTV enabled the council’s Community Safety team to identify Adam Burchell dumping bags of soil and plant pots in the area on Monday 17 June. The cameras picked up his vehicle and registration number which was used to trace his address and Mr Burchell was issued with an £80 FPN which he paid in full.
