For the first time ever a public meeting has been held about the problem of flytipping on and around Gypsy Lane, which has been getting worse for 20 years. I arranged the meeting which was held yesterday evening, with fellow Mendip district councillor Peter Knibbs (Con, Beckington & Selwood), Mendip District Council’s enforcement officer (Ian Glover), and the local Police (Sgt Rachel Clark).

I was pleased to see so many local residents (around 50) come to have their say about just how bad the problem is, hear what the Council and Police are doing, and what more needs to be done to stop the flytipping on local country lanes.

People clearly want more surveillance to catch the flytippers, covert and overt, but also for people not to give it to flytippers in the first place. I want to raise more awareness of these issues. Councillors, officers and the Police heard what you said, and I will do my best to help the authorities come up with a plan of action.

Somerset Waste Partnership have just reported that as part of their business plan, Frome’s Household Waste Recycling Centre (operated by Viridor) has been identified as a site that could accept commercial waste, as “the plan is to have a total of 10 Somerset recycling centres that will be offering commercial waste services for companies and traders, hopefully from the late summer this year and subject to approval by the Environment Agency.” This should help reduce flytipping by providing local legitimate waste recycling and disposal options in Frome.

A report of the meeting is in this week’s Frome Standard here.

I have now asked Mendip DC:

‘Given the strength of public feeling over the flytipping problem in the Gypsy Lane area near Frome at the recent public meeting I organised and co-chaired with Peter Knibbs, and that the cost of clearance to the Council in that area alone is predicted to rise to £45,000 this year, I would like to suggest the following:

1. Is the Council able to invest in additional flytipping prevention measures, which should subsequently reduce clearance costs?
2. Can the following additional measures be considered on top of the work already being undertaken by Enforcement officers and the council’s clearance contractors:
a. increasing surveillance at and around ‘hotspots’,covertly and overtly, as discussed extensively at the public meeting;
b. considering a Flytipping Reward Scheme to reward local residents for providing information which leads to a successful prosecution (or penalty), (NB such schemes are recommended by DEFRA’s National Flytipping Prevention Group as a way of increasing reporting and investigation, and are being implemented by a number of other councils. Costs could be paid for out of predicted savings in clearance costs, from recovered court costs or FPNs, or even (perhaps) members’ CEF funding);
c.  considering a Neighbourhood Champion scheme to encourage local residents to work with the Council to improve the local environment where they live;
d.  a campaign to increase residents’ and businesses’ awareness of their responsibility and Duty of Care for their waste, and the need for all waste carriers to be legally registered (with Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) and other organisations);
e. increasing the opportunities to use waste as a resource through improved local recycling and re-use facilities, including supporting SWP’s new business plan for Household Waste Recycling Centres in Frome and elsewhere to accept business waste (including green waste) later this year;
f. raising local awareness of the opportunities to use waste as a resource (with Frome Town Council, SWP and others), noting the restoration/extension of opening hours at Frome household waste recycling centre from April.

The Council’s full response will be put on here when available.