Only 1% of Kirklees fly-tippers fined or prosecuted over 12 months
Fewer than 1% of fly-tipping incidents in Kirklees resulted in fines or prosecutions in the last year, data shows, despite a council's "zero tolerance" approach.Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, 10,120 cases were reported to Kirklees Council, according to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) figures.During this period, 53 fixed penalty notices were issued and 21 people were prosecuted in court, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. The local authority said further fines and prosecutions are due to take place over the coming months.
The data revealed there were 8,317 cases reported in Kirklees in 2023/2024 and 7,182 in 2022/2023. Household waste accounted for almost a third of the borough's illegally dumped rubbish reports during these years.
Several local councillors said the issue had worsened since the closure of Birstall's tip and a reduction of opening hours at the Meltham and Upper Cumberworth sites. When the changes to recycling sites were agreed, the council said it would be "closely monitoring" the situation and reiterated its "zero-tolerance" approach to fly-tipping.The authority recently said there was no evidence to suggest the problem had worsened in Meltham since the opening hours were reduced.Commenting on the latest figures, councillor Munir Ahmed said: "Our aim is to keep Kirklees as clean and green as possible, but in order to issue a fixed penalty notice we need evidence that links the waste back to a person."We rely on people who witness fly-tipping to provide us with a statement, and not having this evidence can hinder the number of fines we can issue and the number of offenders who can be prosecuted."
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