OPINION: 'Fly-tipping reports are down but my pictures of Northampton neighbourhoods show there is still work to be done to clear filthy streets'

This week, I returned to the side streets off the Wellingborough Road and Kettering Road areas for another glimpse at the filth which residents and our readers regularly say is a major issue in the town.

What I saw was rubbish around every street corner, whether that be a ‘free’ fridge with a can of lager inside and a rotten smell, a urine-soaked mattress, or just a huge pile of grot that everyone has seemingly started chipping into.

You see it all and you just think, why? Who are these people? What goes through their heads?

Some blame HMOs for the accumulation of filth in this area, others blame access to the tips, others say they pay their council tax and the council should be on it. Whatever the reason, it’s clearly out of control.

Just this week, WNC has said fly-tipping reports are down since a new tip booking system was introduced across West Northants.

That is good news. But the town is still filthy. There is so much more still to be done… especially if we want to become town of culture.

The responsibility lies absolutely with the individuals responsible for doing this. It is beyond comprehension some of the things I have seen dumped on our streets

So, what are WNC doing to tackle it?

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by this newspaper revealed that West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) issued 12 fines for fly-tipping in the first nine months of 2025 and had two successful prosecutions, despite receiving more than 19,000 reports.

If WNC has the funding for traffic enforcement cameras, then can investment also be made to put up more cameras to catch or at least deter fly-tipping hotspots.

WNC also has a three-year contract with controversial private enforcement firm Kingdom Local Authority Support, who are there to stop littering. I see them on the Market Square catching people for a dropped cigarette and giving them with a £70 fine, but have never seen or heard them catching many fly tipping perpetrators.

Flytipping is a huge issue in Northampton and many were quick to respond to the news about the drop in fly-tipping figures. – here’s what some residents have said in reaction to WNC’s latest press release...

John Atkinson said: “There's none or little enforcement, look at the prosecutions. Walk around, outside some people's houses there builders or general waste been there for weeks where are the Wardens knocking on doors, Steve Burdett I know you do your best any ideas. There should be zero tolerance and big fines. Cameras, people hide their faces, registrations, but if the driver is caught I read they could potentially lose their licences.

“There are solutions, I’ve tried to pass other solutions on, deaf ears. In the US there's no tolerance, big fines, great outcomes.”

Pat Bright Cook Stroud said: “Booking makes no difference either way to those that wouldn't take rubbish to the recycling centre in the first place. Fly-tipping around the Mount's back streets is an absolute disgrace.”

In response to Mr Atkinson, Cllr Nigel Stansfield who is in charge of environmental issues at WNC, said: “We have finally got agreement from WNC for a zero-tolerance crackdown on fly-tipping where evidence is available.

“Fixed Penalty Notices will be given instead of warning notices. We will be publicising fines as a deterrent.”

West Northamptonshire Council has also issued a statement saying it takes fly-tipping ‘very seriously’ and is committed to tackling this issue.

A council spokesman said: “We’ve recently changed the way we deal with fly-tips in Northampton, which is helping us improve collection timescales. The majority of fly-tips on council-managed land are now cleared within two to three days. It’s important to note that fly-tips on private land remain the responsibility of the landowner.

“Many of the incidents we record involve domestic waste being left out too early or too late for collection. We are carrying out additional communications in the worst-affected areas to remind residents of their collection arrangements and encourage responsible disposal. Businesses have responsibility for disposing of their own waste through separate arrangements.

“DEFRA’s national statistics show that West Northamptonshire reports a high number of ‘single incident’ fly-tips, which may indicate that other councils do not include these in their figures. These same statistics also confirm that West Northants has good enforcement rates compared with other areas.

“We investigate fly-tips wherever possible to identify those responsible, and we encourage residents to provide witness evidence. While CCTV can help, it does not always provide sufficient evidence for enforcement unless we can clearly identify individuals, vehicle registration numbers, or addresses.

“The Environmental Crime team uses cameras to monitor fly-tipping hotspots, and we prioritise their deployment based on information received from the area neighbourhood warden, local residents, internal partners and members to help identify the areas of most need. We would not disclose the location of previous or proposed use of cameras so that we do not compromise our intelligence gathering.”

The spokesman added: “West Northamptonshire Council is not unique in the fly-tipping challenges it has; it’s an issue councils across the UK struggle with.

“As a result of regular reporting, surely nobody is under the impression that this is a reasonable thing to do. Yet our teams do all they can to educate people in the worst-hit areas, and enforce where they can gather sufficient evidence.

“Everyone needs to play their part by taking their rubbish to waste and recycling centres, arranging lawful disposal of bulky items, and making sure waste is put out at the correct time – not far too early or too late.

“We can’t be everywhere, so we need people to be our eyes and ears. By working together, we can reduce fly-tipping and keep our communities clean.”

“Every resident can easily get rid of their household waste properly. All homes have regular rubbish and recycling collections, and there are six recycling centres that residents can use without charge, covered by their council tax. Because of this, there is no excuse for fly-tipping.

“Clearing up fly-tipped waste costs the Council extra money, and that cost is paid for by all residents. If you see someone fly-tipping, please report it to the Council so we can take action against them.

“Details can be found on the Council’s website on how to report fly-tipping, either on the site or via an app on Apple or Android devices.

“Kingdom deals with low-level environmental crime as part of its contract. Any evidence relating to fly-tipping will be passed to our team for enforcement.”