Tidy Our Town: West Northants Labour leader believes collaboration is key in tackling littering and fly tipping
The leader of the West Northants Labour Group believes collaboration is key in tackling the issue of littering and fly tipping across the county, and she is keen to see more of it moving forward.
Councillor Wendy Randall, who is the Labour representative for Daventry West, is the latest to speak to the Chronicle & Echo as part of the Tidy Our Town campaign.
Cllr Randall first spoke of the fly tipping statistics from the final quarter of 2024, which was more than 4,700, and she was keen to see a breakdown between the three areas – Northampton, South Northants and Daventry.
The Labour leader approached The Norse Group, which works with West Northamptonshire Council to collect waste, clean streets and clear fly tips in Daventry, and found that 374 of the over 4,700 fly tips were from Daventry.
Cllr Randall believes this highlights that Northampton is the major problem area when it comes to littering and fly tipping – and it is important to drill down the hotspots, work together with those communities and implement education.
The Labour Party has put forward a number of littering and fly tipping related motions over the past four years, which Cllr Randall says have all been voted down by the WNC Conservatives.
More than two years ago, Cllr Randall says they proposed to get everyone involved in this issue around a table to work collaboratively – and that idea was not carried forward by WNC.
More recently, a trial of a ‘community skip scheme’ formed part of Labour’s budget amendments which were voted against in February. You can read more about this scheme in an interview with Labour Councillor Keith Holland-Delamere here.
“Everything we have tried to put forward has been turned down,” said Cllr Randall. “What Councillor Matt Golby proposed [in another recent Chronicle & Echo story on WNC’s future plans to tackle littering and fly tipping] is no different to what is being done already.
“When driving in some of the most deprived areas, the grass isn’t cut as nicely and the place looks rundown. This attracts fly tipping as it’s not cared about, and often anti-social behaviour as well.”
Talking about how WNC has dealt with littering and fly tipping over the past four years, Cllr Randall continued: “Nothing’s really changed. You go down the same streets with the same issues and the litter is exactly the same.
“Some of the Northampton areas are absolutely shocking. It’s about being on the ground and having more of a local connection – finding out who is doing the fly tipping, speaking with people and educating them.”
Cllr Randall would like to see the introduction of a community skip scheme and more community wardens moving forward.
Despite this, having seen two Kingdom enforcement officers issuing a fine when a man dropped a cigarette end in Daventry in recent weeks, she does not believe this is the way to go about it.
“There was no warning and Daventry wouldn’t know anything about who these people are,” said Cllr Randall. “They hound people for an on-the-street fine.”
The Labour leader reiterated that getting all parties involved in the issue of littering and fly tipping together is crucial – including waste collectors, the Northants Litter Wombles, landlords and shop owners.
Here’s what West Northamptonshire Council previously had to say
Cllr Golby and WNC were approached for comment ahead of the start of purdah on March 14 – which is the period of time leading up to the local election when there are restrictions on communications activity.
A council spokesperson responded to the Chronicle & Echo on the first day of purdah to say there is nothing further for them to add on the matter in addition to Cllr Golby’s interview last month.
In that story, Cllr Golby stated an ‘Improving Environment Initiative’ will form part of WNC’s future plans to minimise littering and fly tipping. This will tackle hotspot areas across West Northamptonshire, and they are starting with the Mounts, Semilong and Wellingborough Road.
He said that rather than trying to change mindset and attitude by telling people that littering and fly tipping is wrong, WNC will adopt an “intelligence-led” approach to hand out more fixed penalty notices for environmental crimes.
What Cllr Golby means by “intelligence-led” is that WNC is going to work closely with residents and groups among these three communities to find out where the issues are stemming from – in the hope of cracking down on those breaking the rules.
Cllr Golby agreed that WNC will be willing to get behind the introduction of more Deposit Return Scheme machines across the area before the national rollout in October 2027.
If you would like to get involved in the Tidy Our Town campaign, established in collaboration with the Northants Litter Wombles, email [email protected].