MORE than 2,000 incidents of fly-tipping have been reported by local authorities in Basingstoke and Deane, government stats reveal.

The figures released by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that incidents of fly-tipping on public land have increased by 16 per percent across England in 2020/2021 and councils dealt with 1.13 million fly-tipping incidents during this period.

In the South East 55,162 incidents have been reported with latest figures showing 2,935 of these happened in Basingstoke and Deane alone.

In Basingstoke a shocking 1,548 cases have been reported by Highways England, 593 offences were found on footpaths and 593 were discovered in alleyways.

This is less than then the previous year (2019/2020) when a total of 4,107 incidents were reported.

CLA (The Country Land and Business Association ) South East represents thousands of farmers, landowners, and rural businesses in Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and the Isle of Wight. 

Tim Bamford, director of CLA, said: “These figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside.

“Local authorities tend not to get involved with clearing incidences of fly-tipped waste from private land, leaving the landowner to clean up and foot what is often an extortionate bill. The government figures do not reflect the true scale of the crime because increasing reports of fly-tipping on private rural land are not included.

“Fly-tipping continues to wreck the lives of many of us living and working in the countryside – and significant progress needs to be made to stop it. It’s not just the odd bin bag but large household items, from unwanted sofas to broken washing.”

In Basingstoke and Deane actions were only taken against 90 of the incidents, with just 9 fines issued and no custodial sentences given.

Cllr Hayley Eachus, cabinet member for recycling, waste and regulatory services, said: “During 2020/21, despite the courts not always being available to us due to the pandemic,  we secured nine convictions.  There have been 11 further convictions so far this year, and several more cases are pending court hearings in the new year.

“Since 2018 we have secured 38 convictions, the second highest rate of convictions in the county, and this sends a strong message to anyone who behaves in this way. I’m pleased to see that in the first half of this council year we have seen a 35% reduction in fly-tipping incidents cleared by our operations team.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping and will gather evidence to pursue prosecution wherever possible. Sentences are imposed by the courts and we cannot influence whether the outcomes are fines or custodial sentences.  

“We continue to encourage anyone who witnesses fly tipping to report this via www.basingstoke.gov.uk/flytipping.”

Tim said that although the maximum fine for anyone caught -fly-tipping is £50,000 or a 12 months prison sentence if convicted they are rarely enforced.

He added: “Tougher or more realistic action is taken to combat this kind of rural crime, it will continue to wreak devastation across rural communities. This is why it’s crucial that tougher punishments are imposed by the courts.”

The CLA introduced a 5-point action plan to tackle fly-tipping, which called on local authorities, the Environment Agency and police forces to commit to stronger action against the increase of fly-tipping on private land.

They believe that each local authority should have a dedicated lead for fly-tipping to aid partnership working.