Epping Forest: Multi-Agency Response to Flytipping

Funding totalling almost £80,000 will help target flytipping and environmental crime and fund CCTV, automatic number plate recognition cameras and additional patrols.

The UK government’s Safer Streets fund has awarded £50,653, combined with an additional £28,233 from Epping Forest District Council along with support from the City of London Corporation, will enable a comprehensive approach to address flytipping and other related anti-social behaviour and criminal activities.

The collaborative project will bring together teams from Epping Forest District Council, and the City of London Corporation, which manages Epping Forest, to create a robust response to environmental crime.

The funding will support a variety of initiatives including enhanced joint training, co-ordinated patrols, CCTV and ANPR to detect and deter flytippers, and also raise awareness of suitable waste disposal.

The project aims to reduce flytipping by creating a deterrent for offenders while addressing other issues such as anti-social behaviour, drug-related offences, dangerous driving and littering.

A total of 2,476 fly-tips were reported in the Epping Forest district in 2023-24, a 9% increase from previous years. And in Epping Forest alone, where the City of London Corporation is responsible for fly-tipping removal, there were more than 300 incidents between 2022-23. Clearing litter and waste from the forest costs the Corporation 10% of its annual budget.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act (1990) and carries fines of up to £50,000 or even imprisonment.

City of London Corporation Epping Forest and Commons Committee chairman Ben Murphy said: “Flytipping causes significant harm to the environment and wastes resources that could be used to enhance Epping Forest, which millions of people come to enjoy each year. Epping Forest is a site of special scientific interest, a special area of conservation, and one of the few remaining extensive natural woodlands in southern England. We welcome this renewed effort from our community partners to help protect it. In addition to enhanced operational collaboration, this funding will add CCTV to our arsenal, with automatic number plate recognition technology to detect and prevent anti-social behaviour.”

Epping Forest District Council regulatory, technical and community safety services portfolio holder councillor Paul Keska said:
“This funding is a crucial step in our fight against flytipping and environmental crime in Epping Forest district. Working together with our partners, we aim to clean up our communities and to reduce the number of fly-tips and other associated crimes. Once again, this Safer Streets funding has been fundamental in creating a safer and cleaner district for residents and visitors by addressing the current fly-tipping crisis. This project will not only work to deter fly-tippers but also inform residents and businesses on the importance of choosing licenced and trustworthy contractors for proper waste disposal.”

Essex Police Sergeant Robert Fitt said:
“This kind of partnership work and extra funding is a great step towards stopping fly-tipping in our district. We understand the wider impact of fly-tipping, so tackling this is crucial to bringing down incidents of related offending, making everyone safer in the process.”

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