Agenda item

Any items of business that the Chairman may decide are urgent.

Fixed Penalty Notices

The Chairman advised that the report on fixed penalty notices at Item 15 had been moved to the public session and would be considered at this point in the meeting. The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment which sought approval of increasing the charge for Fixed Penalty Notices.  

In response to a Member’s query on the range of offences, their associated costs and how this is addressed by neighbouring boroughs, the Director of Transportation and Public Realm advised that littering was taken seriously by local authorities with some issuing fines of up to £150 to act as a deterrent. The Director of Transportation and Public Realm added that 440 offences had taken place within the City which included graffiti and littering, and he would provide the Member with a breakdown of those offences.

In response to Members’ questions, the Director of Transportation and Public Realm advised that the £80-£150 fine would take effect from April 2019 and confirmed it would be enforced strictly.

A Member observed that the bins within the City were sometimes overflowing and this should be addressed if charges were being increased. Responding, the Director of Transportation and Public Realm advised that the smart bins did send an email when they were almost full, and the Team endeavoured to address this as quickly as possible. 

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    approve a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) charge of minimum £80 per FPN issued if paid within 10 days and a maximum of £150 if not paid within 10 days for the offences listed in the report as the new FPN fee structure for litter offences;

b)    request the Director of the Built Environment to instruct Street Environment Officers to issue FPNs at the approved level; and

c)    approve implementing a communication and publicity campaign to publicise the increase in the penalty structure.

Consultations

The Chairman reminded Members they had two weeks from today to submit their comments to the Air Quality Team regarding the DEFRA consultation. The Team would then collate comments and submit the response. The Chairman added the Saturday Working Consultation would end on 7 August 2018.

Dates

The fishing experiment would take place on 22 September 2018 and the cemetery visit on 30 October 2018. The Chairman asked the Town Clerk to circulate the time of the Cemetery visit to Members.