At this month’s full council meeting, Cllr. Ross Penhale-Thomas (Ind, Maesteg West) asked for an update on actions Bridgend Council is taking to deal with fly-tipping and dog fouling.
All councillors receive regular complaints from constituents about the two issues. Cllr. Penhal-Thomas submitted Freedom of Information requests to neighbouring councils to determine how well they were doing compared to Bridgend.
The results were pretty one-sided:
- On-the-spot fines for dog fouling: Rhondda Cynon Taf: 754; Neath Port Talbot 30; Bridgend 1
- Prosecutions for dog fouling: Rhondda Cynon Taf: 72; Neath Port Talbot 2; Bridgend 0
- On-the-spot fines for fly-tipping: Rhondda Cynon Taf: 171; Neath Port Talbot 78; Bridgend 7
- Prosecutions for fly-tipping: Rhondda Cynon Taf: 87; Neath Port Talbot 34; Bridgend 0
He asked why people in Bridgend were far less likely to be punished for breaking the law compared to neighbouring councils.
Cllr. Ian Spiller (Ind, Bryntirion, Laleston & Merthyr Mawr) said that education around fly-tipping and dog fouling has been ongoing since he was a child. Neighbouring authorities seem to have a better grip on using their powers and bringing in additional revenue. Reports might have fallen because people don’t expect anything to be done.
Sometimes the carrot is better than the stick
Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment, Cllr. John Spanswick (Lab, Brackla West Central), said there were two explanations.
The first is that Bridgend has focused on prevention and education rather than prosecuting people – which the numbers suggest has been successful. Other local authorities may be doing well at issuing fines, but have they done as well in cutting fly-tipping and dog fouling?
There were legal costs associated with issuing and chasing up fines to consider too.
The other explanation is that a county-wide public space protection order relating to dog fouling expired during the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning there wasn’t a proper legal basis. A new order is due to be introduced next month.
Cllr. Spanswick rejected the notion that “nothing was being done”. There was some “great work” taking place in schools in particular and those efforts should be talked-up, not talked-down.
