Labour calls for action on fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles

The Labour & Co-operative Group propose a motion to back a new, evidence-based approach to targeting Swindon's persistent fly-tipping hotspots, including a time-limited community skip pilot in a small number of areas.
The group also proposes, in another motion, a joint protocol between Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Police for dealing with obstructive and abandoned vehicles on roads and pavements. 
The motion regarding fly-tipping, proposed by Cllr Princia Fernandes (Gorse Hill), asks the council to:
- Use reporting and operational data to identify repeat locations.
- Use enforcement at those hotspots, including lawful evidence gathering, partnership working, better signage and lighting, access controls, education, and changes to waste storage or collection where appropriate;
- Trial a supervised community skip scheme in areas, for residents' household waste only.
- Measure the impact on repeat fly-tipping levels and resident satisfaction, with the scheme to be revisited after six months.
Cllr Fernandes said: “My constituents in Gorse Hill, or any Swindon resident for that matter, should not have to put up with the same pile of rubbish on their street week after week, yet we get reports that this is the case. 
"Although the new Environmental Team has had successes since January, we need to give them even more support.
“Clearing up is only half the job. If we understand why dumping keeps happening in the same places, we can stop it at source. 
"People in Swindon want to be proud of where they are from and this scheme will help to rebuild some of that pride.”
The motion regarding abandoned vehicles was prompted by a number of residents reporting vehicles blocking public footways so badly that prams, wheelchairs and mobility scooters were forced into the road. 
However, if such vehicles are road legal there is no protocol for doing something about the problem, according to the Labour & Co-Operative Group.
Part of the problem, the group says, appears to be confusion over who is responsible, with residents reporting that both the Council and Wiltshire Police fail to take ownership of the problem and often direct residents to raise their concerns with the other.
The motion, moved by Cllr Stanka Wilson, Labour Shadow Cabinet Member for tackling crime, asks the council to:
- Develop a joint protocol with Wiltshire Police that sets out escalation criteria, agreed response times and a point of contact for complex cases.
- Make sure the specific issue raised by residents is addressed and sets out next steps.
- Give the Abandoned Vehicles Team updated guidance and training on identifying obstruction.
Cllr Chris Watts, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, said: "Someone in a wheelchair or pushing a pram should never be forced into the road because a vehicle is blocking the pavement – it defeats the whole point of the pavement.
“When residents report these concerns, they also have the right to expect a more thorough investigations than simply being told that the vehicle is ‘road legal’. 
"These concerns are not about whether the vehicle is allowed on the road; it is about whether it should be allowed on the pavement!
“It would help as a first step to know who is responsible and what will happen next, with the answer to these two questions clear for all to see. A protocol between the council and Wiltshire Police gives them that."
 

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