Consultation over on the spot fines for littering and dog fouling in Bassetlaw as staggering new figures revealed

Residents and business owners are being asked if they would like to continue to see fixed penalty notices of £100 issued to people who litter or do not clean up their dog’s mess.

Over the last 10 months, Bassetlaw District Council has been working in partnership with District Enforcement, a company that specialises in environmental enforcement, on a pilot project that takes a firmer approach to environmental crimes.

Enforcement officers have been patrolling communities across the district and issuing FPNs.

So far 3,000 FPNs have been handed out for littering and 65 for dog fouling.

The council is now asking residents and business owners to share their views as part of a six-week consultation.

These responses will help to inform a decision on whether to continue to provide enforcement officers with legal powers that allows them to issue FPN’s on behalf of the council.

Councillor Julie Leigh, cabinet member for environment at Bassetlaw District Council, said: “Littering and dog fouling are two of the most emotive issues that are reported to councillors and the council.

“In August 2020, we took a more targeted and proactive approach to tackling these anti-social activities.

"We would now like to ask residents and businesses if they believe this approach has made a positive impact and if they would like to continue to see fixed penalty notices issued to those few people who drop litter and don’t clean up after their dog.

“We want people to take pride in where they live and work and through this consultation we are interested to learn the public’s views on if they believe this pilot has helped to change people’s attitudes and behaviour to reduce the amount of litter and dog poo on our streets and in our communities.”

If an FPN is not paid, the offender could face prosecution and a potential fine of up to £2,500.

To take part in the consultation, which runs until midnight on Sunday, July 11 visit www.bassetlaw.gov.uk/enforcement-consultation

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