North Warwickshire and Bedworth’s Member of Parliament has raised the prominent local concern of fly-tipping in our community to Ministers.
Craig Tracey has called for the Leader of the House to hold an urgent debate to highlight the problem which has become more common recently.
Speaking in the Commons Craig said:
“I wish to highlight the huge increase in fly-tipping across North Warwickshire and Bedworth in recent months. A recent episode near the village of Austrey led to an entire road being blocked by the rubbish deposited on it. The clear-up costs for just one council are estimated at £650,000, so may we have an urgent debate on this issue to see what more can be done to protect our countryside from this terrible scourge, which sadly seems to be on the increase across the country as a whole?”
Minister David Liddington responded:
“Many of us will have experience of what my hon. Friend rightly terms this “scourge” in our constituencies, and he is right to speak out today. Where fly-tipping involves hazardous waste or organised crime the Environment Agency has a role to play, so he might want to make representations to it. The Government last year gave councils the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping incidents, and his local council might wish to explore that.”
Craig has since applied for a Westminster Hall Debate to raise the issue directly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The Local MP believe tougher punishments should be in store for those who commit fly-tipping. Mr Tracey explained:
“Fly-tipping is vulgar, those who do it show sheer arrogance and selfishness by blighting our communities in such a way. Unfortunately I have seen this right across the constituency from Austrey to Bedworth in recent months. Most local people take a great deal of pride in their community so there is rightly a lot of anger about this issue.”
Mr Tracey now plans to hold meetings between multiple local agencies to tackle fly-tipping in the area.