Norwich councillor angered by council's fly-tipping blunder

Councillor Alex Catt, deputy leader of the Norwich Green Party, claims a lack of resources and proper enforcement processes prevented a large fine from being issued over the dumped waste.

He said: "After finding a large number of household items and rubbish dumped at Long Row in the NR3 area of the city, I noticed multiple letters with the name and address of the probable offender.

Councillor Catt found incriminating documents in a large pile of rubbish dumped in Long Row (Image: Alex Catt) "After contacting officers at Norwich City Council, I was told not to report the items for removal, to leave all evidence with the rubbish and let a council officer come out to investigate.

"However, when the officer was able to come and investigate, many of the items had been removed and the letters were missing, likely preventing fines from being given out." 

READ MORE: CCTV removed by council sees increase in fly-tipping at communal bins

According to Mr Catt, there are more than 6,000 reported instances of fly-tipping in Norwich and its boroughs each year - and it is only getting worse.

"The city continues to look like a real mess in places and we are calling on the council to clamp down on the tippers," he added.

By the time council enforcement officers turned up, the documents had been removed (Image: Alex Catt) "It needs to change its processes in these circumstances to ensure that vital evidence is not lost."

Green councillors have called for fly-tipping to be taken more seriously in recent years, suggesting more CCTV is installed in tipping hotspots as well as an increase in maximum penalties.

Last month, people living in Knowland Grove, Marlpit, reported fly-tipping incidents had skyrocketed after CCTV cameras were removed from part of the estate.

The cameras overlooked a row of communal bins and the area was left an "absolute mess" after their removal.