North East council wants criminals punished more severely over day-to-day problem
Gateshead Council has backed calls for tougher sentencing for fly-tippers with the local clean-up bill reaching over £400,000 a year.
The council alongside the Local Government Association (LGA) are urging the government and Sentencing Council to bring court fines for fly-tippers closer in step to council fines, which in many cases are higher. According to Gateshead Council the average court fine is £539 with the average council penalty notice standing at £626.
In a statement to the press, the LGA stated: “This sentencing gap undermines deterrence, weakens enforcement, and leaves councils out of pocket after time-consuming and costly prosecutions.”
Coun John McElroy, cabinet for environment and transport, said:“Environmental crimes are unacceptable and will not be tolerated as they spoil the local environment for everyone. Fly-tipping in Gateshead costs us over £400,000 a year just to remove and dispose of the waste – all money that could be used for other essential services, so it is crucial that the punishment for committing these crimes is severe enough to prevent people doing it.”
“In September we increased the level of our FPNs for this reason and earlier this year issued our first £1,000 fine for fly-tipping which has since been paid. Taking enforcement action can be a lengthy process so the outcome needs to reflect the seriousness of the crime.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to the council’s environmental team who were tackling a case of fly-tipping at the back of Howe Street last July. Michael Lamb, the council’s service director, said the fly-tipping was a “day to day” problem.
In 2025, the council started a new team of eight environmental patrol men for Gateshead’s back streets. Earlier that year, the council also confirmed it would invest £6.8m in new waste collection vehicles and £7.7m in new machinery to improve pothole repair over the next five years.
Earlier this month Martin Taylor of Dunston was found guilty by the courts ofunlawfully depositing waste in and around the rear alleyway of Spoor Street and was issued a £120 fine with £566 costs. Alongside this a resident was found guilty of an unlawful deposit of controlled waste on land at Sunderland Road and was fined by the council a total of £461.