Caerphilly County Borough Council takes a very tough stance on environmental issues such as littering and dog fouling, and in the last month alone has taken three individuals to court for such offences.
“We are committed to ensuring that our county borough remains a clean, green and pleasant place to live”, said Cllr Lyn Ackerman, cabinet member for the environment.
She continued, “The vast majority of residents do take their environmental responsibilities seriously, and would not even consider dropping litter or allowing their dogs to foul public places. There is however still a very small minority who feel it is acceptable to behave in this manner”.
“It is these people who we are telling to ‘Pick Up or Pay Up’. We will not accept behaviour of this kind”.
In the last month alone, Caerphilly County Borough Council has taken three individuals to court for environmental offences:
The first offence occurred at Bristol Terrace, Brithdir where a man allowed his dog to foul in a public area. Enforcement officers issued him with a fixed penalty notice for £75. As a result of non-payment of this fine the matter was pursued through the courts, where he pleaded guilty to the offence and was ordered to pay a £100 fine, together with £85 prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
The second offence occurred at River Terrace, Pengam where a woman dropped litter to the ground in a public area. Enforcement officers issued her with a fixed penalty notice for £75. As a result of non-payment of this fine the matter was pursued through the courts. The defendant did not attend court therefore the case was proven in her absence – she was ordered to pay a £350 fine together with £85 prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
The third offence occurred at Ystrad Mynach Park where a woman allowed her dog to foul in a public area. Enforcement officers issued her with a fixed penalty notice for £75. As a result of non-payment of this fine the matter was pursued through the courts, where she pleaded guilty to the offence and was ordered to pay a £70 fine, £85 prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Between April 1st 2007 and March 31st 2009, Caerphilly County Borough Council issued a total of 189 fixed penalty notices of £75 for dog fouling and 80 fixed penalty notices of £75 for littering.
During this time, it was necessary for Caerphilly County Borough Council to pursue 19 cases through the courts for non-payment of fines for dog fouling offences and 6 for non-payment of fines for littering offences.
According to a Keep Wales Tidy survey, dog fouling and littering are consistently some of the highest sources of complaints by the public to local authorities. Dog fouling is thought to be the issue that regularly comes top of people’s classifications of the worst forms of litter and waste.
To report littering or dog fouling in Caerphilly county borough, please call Caerphilly StreetPride on 01443 866 566 or visit the StreetPride web pages at http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/streetpride/.
