A new multi-agency crackdown on fly-tipping and other environmental crimes in the Strangeways area has launched this week.
The campaign sees Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Police and responsible local businesses working together to ensure cleaner local streets, while the council will be carrying out targeted work to track down, punish and deter the rogue businesses and individuals responsible for blighting the area through fly-tipping.
Around 100 businesses trading in the Strangeways area have already been investigated to check that they have a contract in place for disposal of their commercial waste, as required by law, with a further 150 more scheduled to be checked.
Businesses found not to have the required waste disposal contract in place are being served with legal notices ordering them to comply, while any relevant evidence gathered is shared with the council’s Trading Standards and Business Rates teams, to build intelligence for future operations.
Council officers are at work in the area daily, recording incidents of fly-tipping – plus other nuisance issues, like littering, fly-posting and graffiti – reporting them to be cleared by the council’s waste contractor, Biffa and, wherever possible, for investigation and potential prosecution by the council’s Environmental Crimes team.
Through this work, the council is forming positive relations with many law-abiding local business owners who are keen to support the bid to improve the appearance of the local area. As part of the campaign, local traders will be displaying banners warning offenders of the consequences of illegal fly-tipping.
Mohammed Salim, of Manzil, a weddings, conference and banqueting hall on Bury New Road, welcomed the initiative. Mr Salim said: “We need a collective effort from everybody to take action and improve the local environment.
“All local businesses need to play by the rules and have a waste contract – and more action from the council to get this message across will really help to create the environment we all want to live and work in.”
In the past twelve months, seven successful prosecutions have been brought for fly-tipping offences in the area. Officers also have the authority to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to those caught in the act. More than 40 FPNs have been issued to business owners and individuals for littering in this area since April 2017 – with 11 fines of £400 for fly-tipping handed out, plus a further 32 fines of £80 for lesser waste offences.
Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Nigel Murphy, said: “Our Environmental Crimes team do excellent work in tracking down and prosecuting fly-tippers and we know that the majority of local businesses want to see cleaner streets in Strangeways, so by joining forces, we’re determined to make a real difference and stamp out the problems caused by the selfish, criminal minority.
“Working in partnership with responsible local businesses and Greater Manchester Police will help us to ensure that anti-social behaviour in Strangeways is detected and reported to us, so that we can track down and punish the culprits and deter offenders in the long-term.”
Inspector Paul Coburn, City of Manchester Division, Greater Manchester Police, said: “Local Neighbourhood Officers are currently working to support partners and residents in their desire to address illegal fly-tipping issues in the Strangeways area. If you have any information relating to people or vehicles linked to fly-tipping, or any other anti-social activity, please get in touch with the Police via 101, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111”.
To report a fly-tipping incident in your area, go to www.manchester.gov.uk/flytipping.
