Council seek to increase fly-tipping fines to £1000

The council said it wanted to cut fly-tipping by 20%

A local authority is seeking to increase its fine for fly-tipping from £400 to £1000 in a bid to reduce the issue.

Northumberland County Council officials will be asked on Tuesday to pass plans which strengthen its powers to cut illegal tips.

The measures include leaving crime scene tape at some dumping hotspots in order to highlight the illegality of fly-tipping.

By the end of the 2025/2026 financial year, the council wants to cut instances of the crime by 20% from its current rate.

Officials want to increase the fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping from £400 to £1000, which can be cut by £750 if paid within seven days, according to documents published prior to Tuesday's council meeting.

The local authority said the number of illegal tips had risen by 10% from 4,028 in the 2022/2023 financial year to 4,429 in the 2023/2024 financial year.

It said the increases were seen largely in the Blyth and Ashington, areas with some hotspots including Cowpen Quay in Blyth and The Hirst in Ashington.

As part of its push to fight back against the problem, the council suggests leaving crime scene tape after it has removed illegal waste from some sites.

This would highlight "what some people have begun to see as normal in hotspot areas is in fact illegal", officials wrote.

These images could then be promoted via social media, they said.

Stencils and spray paint could also be used to temporarily mark spots where fly-tipping happened often, they added.