Supermarkets in Northampton to be fined for each abandoned trolley

Guildhall councillors will discuss the measures next week following a rise in the number of reports of abandoned trollies in roads, on paths and strewn around Northampton's public parks.

A motion to be put before cabinet members on November 5 says the trollies "have the potential to cause accidents and are an eyesore" and suggests stores are fined £50 for every one recovered by council workers.

Councillor Mike Hallam (Con, Parklands) said: "Although many of our local supermarkets try to take effective action to prevent the abandonment of shopping trolleys, it is too often the case that they do not act quickly enough on reports received."

Although the fine is a suggestion at this stage, it is highly likely to be voted through given that Councillor Hallam is a cabinet member, with a brief covering the environment.

The charge is set to come into force on January 1 2019. Any money raised will be used to recover the cost of collecting any shopping trolley that is found by a Northampton Borough Council authorised officer on "any land in the open air’ (including watercourses)", and that appears to them to be abandoned.

However, the real aim is to encourage supermarkets into taking action.

Councillor Hallam said: "Abandoned trollies are a real nuisance and NBC is hoping that, rather than paying fees, supermarkets will take more responsibility for collecting their trolleys and, consequently, help reduce the number of such incidents."