Scarborough has highest rate of fly-tipping in North Yorkshire - with call for more prosecutions

More fly-tipping incidents have been reported in Scarborough than anywhere in the county, according to North Yorkshire Council documents.

In the past year, the authority has spent more than £120,000 on clean-up operations which have increased in cost due to the type and size of incidents reported.

More than 770 fly-tipping incidents were reported to have taken place in Scarborough between April 2023 and December 31 last year.

MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Sir Robert Goodwill, called on the council to increase its rate of prosecutions to deter would-be fly-tippers.

“The real problem is that local authorities aren’t putting in [adequate] resources to bring forward prosecutions, despite the fact that we’ve given them £1m of extra resources across the country to do so,” he said.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mr Goodwill added that he was in favour of higher fines but emphasised the need for a tougher stance on prosecutions.

While more than a million cases of fly-tipping were recorded in England last year, North Yorkshire has seen a decreasing trend in the number of reported cases quarterly and annually.

The most recent data shows that 554 fly-tipping incidents were reported across the county between October – December last year which is 216 less than the previous quarter’s figure.

However, the council noted that “this may be a coincidental drop” and that it was “monitoring the longer-term trend”.

Last summer, the Government announced that it was increasing the maximum amount those caught fly-tipping could be fined from £400 to £1,000.

Mr Goodwill told the LDRS that the Government was taking fly-tipping seriously and highlighted the scrapping of charges for disposing of DIY waste at council recycling centres as a further incentive.

However, he said that the scale of fly-tipping remained at “unacceptably high levels”.

Asked whether he was in favour of the Government providing further financial support to help councils with prosecutions, the member of parliament said that “local government is all about the priorities that voters set”.

He added: “There’s a number of priorities that North Yorkshire Council is looking at, but one of them must be fly tipping and ensuring that more prosecutions are brought forward.

“And if people are getting fined £1,000, that is money that is coming back into the public purse.”

According to the council data, Harrogate had 230 reported incidents – the second highest number – between July and December last year.